Two Reflections, One Mirror
by That Engineer
Summary: Becoming Kings of the Con was no picnic for Lincoln and Clyde, especially after getting cast as pooper scoopers for the villainous Kitty. But what if things turned out different from what we've seen in canon? What about an aftermath? A mirror could be said to be a view into an alternate universe, but even reflections can have differing paths that eventually converge into one.
1. Crime Never Pays Pt 1

**A/N: So I created a poll on Deviant Art almost a couple weeks ago, asking if I should bother making something on the grounds of Kings of the Con. That episode is probably the first time I've seen a Loud House special get universally despised; and I can understand why. People are already divisive about Clincoln McCloud episodes in general, though this time it seemed as if whoever made the plot really wanted to put the boys in a negative light while propping up the girls (who were pretty much only on board just for the 5 seconds of fame). And, it basically felt like the person in charge did their best to destroy Lincoln's development as a character (at least those are the main points. I won't go into further detail about it).**

**Now, I have two ideas as to how this would affect Lincoln specifically since Ace Savvy is a subject where he ought to feel in his prime; an area that he was deemed an 'expert' as his siblings either didn't care or had little knowledge. Think of Lori when it comes to golf or Luan's knack for comedy as an example. So, here is my first idea on how things could've happened had the episode went a different direction (or how it could've been better). Unlike most of my other stories, this takes place DURING the episode.**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from the Loud House.**

To say that today was quickly becoming one of the biggest disappointments in Lincoln's life might be an understatement. Days before this point, weeks even, he was looking forward to attending this year's Ace Savvy convention after a particular set of circumstances involving his emo of a sister and a clogged toilet prevented him from attending last year's con. His enthusiasm especially reached new heights after Clyde brought him news about a cosplay contest that would take place during the con, the winner of which would be featured as a cameo in the upcoming Ace Savvy movie. It wasn't as simple as sounded though. The Man With The Plan quickly caught onto the fact numerous Aces and Jacks would also be at the event, and if he and Clyde wanted to have a real shot at winning, they'd need to think outside the box.

Enter Lincoln's sisters, also known as the 'Full House'. Based off the comic he created almost a year ago, the Loud had pitched the idea to his siblings in a meeting. The lack of interest nearly threw Lincoln for a loop, considering the hoops they went through to help him get his comic published. However, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility, for Lincoln had an ace up his sleeve. Upon mentioning the award should he and siblings win the contest, the girls were wholeheartedly on board. It was quite an ecstatic feeling for the Loud boy; for once, he could discuss his interests with his sisters without getting any sass, and it was a golden opportunity to train them to be _at least_ familiar with the series. And if everything went according to plan, Lincoln could see his siblings praising him endlessly for getting them hooked into comics.

...Ok, maybe not that far, but the girls would definitely be grateful.

And boy did everything go swimmingly. For the girls that is...

At the moment, Lincoln and Clyde were slouched on a bench next to one of the many booths in the convention center. After overhearing that judges were planning to dub the Full House as the winners, Lincoln grew excited as victory was within reach. Unfortunately, they _only _meant they'd cast the girls while dumping Lincoln and Clyde due to the boys being unable to 'wow' them.

That isn't to say they didn't try their hardest; the two covered the whole convention center to engage numerous activities in order to show their skills. Unfortunately, like the shoddy attempt to drive the High Roller's monster truck, every ploy to impress the judges ended with the boy taking a few steps backwards.

"Well, I'm pretty sure the judges hate us..." Lincoln groaned, sinking further into his seat.

"Yep...this isn't going as well as we thought it would..." Clyde agreed, glancing at a nearby clock. "And there's only an hour left before the contest ends." He gave a side glance towards Lincoln. "Got any more ideas?..."

"I-" Lincoln started, only to cut himself off as he realized he hadn't fully thought up another scheme.

While he might not have shown it, the Loud was starting to panic internally. The boys tried everything at the convention and nothing seemed to work; doing simple tasks like trivia should've been easy given their extensive knowledge on the series, but the boys either fumbled on their answers out of nervousness or were too slow to answer in comparison to their competitors; physical challenges clearly didn't work (just ask the guy who ran the Strong Man booth or why the dunk tank game was closed), and some of the other booths they could've checked out were on particular subjects where Lincoln's sisters had already blown away the competition.

"I-I don't know..." The Loud finally sputtered out.

A pregnant pause filled the void between them. Clyde began to feel that the situation was hopeless, while Lincoln mulled over the sheer irony of their predicament. His sisters wouldn't even be here if he hadn't mentioned the chance of appearing in that new movie; but he and Clyde wouldn't have stood out in the crowd otherwise. Apparently, they still didn't with all the attention the girls were getting now. All that time spent grooming them into newcomers to the series, and the two guys who even brought up the idea in the first place had been cast aside like tumbleweeds.

Lincoln pursed his lips as his brows knitted together; his hands started to form into fists upon a wave of anger washing over him. This felt like it was one of those moments his sisters played him to get ahead in something, only this time Lincoln wasn't even sure if they were doing it on purpose.

"Ugh!" The white-haired boy yelled, startling his friend. "There's gotta be _something _we can do that my sisters can't do!" His eyes narrowed a little as the gears in Lincoln's brain started to turn. The boy rubbed his chin with a finger whilst sitting up straight. "Something that only Ace and Jack can do that the Full House can't..."

"Mmmm..." Clyde hummed as he racked his brain for an answer.

The two boys searched their memories for previous events where they dressed up as Ace and Jack. Outside of Halloween, there were at least two other moments where they acted out their superhero personas: Leni getting wrongfully fired from her job, and almost two months ago, when Clyde discovered a brand of freezer food that tasted similar to Lynn Sr.'s cooking.

The two went wide-eyed, whilst simultaneously berating themselves internally at how such an obvious fact didn't come to them sooner. "Solving a crime!" The boys spoke in unison.

"Wait..." Clyde frowned. "How are we gonna do that? I don't know why anyone would try to commit a crime at a comic book convention." He turned his head to look at the clock he spotted earlier. "Annnnd there isn't much time to cover the entire floor again."

Lincoln only had a smirk, having an idea in place the moment those words left Clyde's mouth. "Easy Clyde." He paused, giving a quick look around to make sure no one was nearby. Satisfied, he addressed his friend by whispering, "We _make _one."

Clyde's mouth dropped, unable to believe the words that left his friend's mouth. He knew that Lincoln's ideas weren't always the best, but the Loud had never before showed any interest in committing an act _this _extreme. "Lincoln, you...you can't be serious!"

Lincoln dropped his coy smile as a light glare took shape. He twisted himself in his seat so he could fully face Clyde. "I _am _serious Clyde! This could be our _only_ shot into getting into that movie!" Lincoln huffed a bit as his anger subsided. "I don't see how there's any other way we could join my sisters, and we don't have time to waste..." Clyde held his tongue, still not comfortable where this was heading. However, he couldn't help but notice the faint traces of desperation that coated Lincoln's tone.

Lincoln drummed his fingers on his arm. "It'll be easy. We'll just create something small, something we can control." The Loud tapped his chin. "Probably cause a little panic, and then we come in and-" Lincoln stopped upon the nerdy child clamping his mouth shut.

The Loud was about to protest, but he stopped short due to the fierce glare Clyde was giving him. "Lincoln, do you even _hear _yourself right now?! Heroes don't create crimes! _Villains do! _And heroes are supposed to stop them! And even if we did, how could you be sure we won't get caught?! We've seen enough cartoons where that plan doesn't work out." The McBride spat, with Lincoln only giving a blank stare in response.

"B-But..." Lincoln started to say, his muffled voice sounding as if he was begging. "We could..." The Loud stopped as his words faded from existence.

Clyde let go of the white-haired child before folding his arms, still irritated that Lincoln refused to let the idea go. "Ask yourself this Lincoln: do you think Ace Savvy would go commit a crime, even if the odds were against him?..."

Lincoln's mouth fell a bit as the gravity of his plan started to set in. In spite of the desperation that clouded his mind, he couldn't deny that Clyde was entirely correct. Getting caught in the act would not only ruin any chance they might've had at getting into the movie, but it would also land them in deep trouble with their parents. On top of that, there was no way Lincoln could guarantee they _wouldn't _get spotted; convention centers had dozens of cameras hidden everywhere, right? Lincoln stole a quick glance towards the ceiling, already spotting 10 or so black dots spread out in a weird pattern. And more importantly, could Lincoln even trust his own plan to work? Becoming Kings of the Con worked for his sisters, but he and his best friend were effectively kicked out of the picture.

At the end of the day, the risks outweighed the positives; and as Lincoln realized, it may as well have been pointless.

Clyde didn't know how he should perceive Lincoln's silence, so he decided to add, "You know better than _anybody _that Ace stands for honesty and justice above anything else. He serves to keep us safe and criminals in jail..." He pursed his lips for a moment. "And you're gonna be making yourself a criminal if you go through with...whatever it was you were planning..."

Lincoln diverted his gaze from Clyde, his head lowered with hot shame filling the boy's stomach to the point the Loud shook as if he were cold. Lincoln flared his nose as his sinuses began to feel irritated, prompting him to make a reflexive sniff. It was a bit noisy, but Clyde didn't seem to notice.

"Now, don't get me wrong, I still want to be in the movie too." The 'Jack' persona relaxed a little. "But maybe we can find a different way to do it!" Clyde looked upwards, his tongue sticking out slightly as he thought of a solution to their dilemma. He pointed up towards the ceiling as an idea came forth. "I know! We could ask your sisters if-" The McBride stopped upon hearing a loud sniffle emanating from Lincoln. He directed his vision back to Lincoln, who was currently wiping his nose. "You ok Lincoln?"

Lincoln shook his head before reaching behind his noggin, undoing the black mask that sat on his eyes. "N-No..." He replied in a broken, shaky whisper.

* * *

Elsewhere, a small crowd of people were exiting out of a conference room, all of them feeling elated at the information the organizers imposed upon them. Among the dispersing people, were ten girls that were collectively known as the Full House.

"That seminar wasn't half bad dudes!" Luna stated, gripping her guitar in excitement. "I didn't even know Ace had a rad taste in music!"

"And I'm surprised Card Countess has the proper abilities of a vampire." Lucy added, a tiny smile on her face. "If I could meet her in person, my heart would beat."

"Gotta say," Lynn started as she looked through a book she was holding. "Ace Savvy might be dorky, but it's not bad at all." She flipped to a page before showing it to the girls. "This villain gallery makes me wanna throw down with all of them, especially High Roller." The athlete chuckled. "Would _love _to wipe that stupid grin off his face!"

"One-Eyed Jack's story was..." Leni started, her eyes becoming wet as her lip quivered. "So..." She couldn't finish before breaking out the waterworks. As a torrent of tears rushed from her eyes, Lucy grimaced as she had to use her shovel as an umbrella.

Lori couldn't help but roll her eyes at Leni's actions. "Yeah, it was tragic. But not as much as Ace. I mean, can you just _imagine _going through all the tough times he had?" She put her hands on her hips with a smile. "Gotta say, Bill Buck really knows how to make a cool backstory."

"I concur." Lisa added, adjusting her glasses when she felt them slipping down her face. "Originally, I believed this convention would be a waste of time, resources, and intellect; but now, I understand why our brother unit enjoys the series."

"Speaking of which..." Luan looked around." Where did _our _Ace and Jack go?"

"Eh." Lola waved a hand dismissively. "They're probably doing whatever it is they do at these things."

Lana felt her stomach gurgling. "Welp, I'm getting hungry. Anyone know where the food court is?"

Lori looked at the time on her phone. "We're all going, cause it's lunch time anyway." She pocketed the device before continuing. "Alright girls, let's split up and find the boys. If they're busy, just tell them to meet us at the food court."

"Pfff. Why don't you just call them?" Luna pointed out. She paused for a moment to readjust her jetpack. "There we go. Besides, it's way quicker."

"Because Mom said we need to make sure we know exactly where everyone is. Plus, it's our first time being here so even if I called Lincoln, someone's gonna get lost trying to find him; especially if he doesn't answer his phone." The eldest sibling explained as a smirk formed. "This kills two birds with one stone."

Leni brought her hands to her mouth as she let out a gasp. "Lori! How could you?!" Pointing an accusatory finger at the oldest sibling, "What did the birds do to you?!"

Most of the girls facepalmed, knowing that Leni was actually being serious; Lori and Lisa rolled their eyes, not in the mood to explain metaphors to Leni for hundredth time.

Lucy took a moment to glance at her reflection on her shovel. "Well, at least I'll get to thank Lincoln in person if I happen to find him."

Lana grinned, hefting her pipe wrench over her shoulder. "Not if I find him first!"

"As if!" Lynn smirked, sensing a competition heating up. "You slowpokes will take forever."

Luna gave a short chortle. "Whose got the jetpack brah?" She pointed to the aforementioned item strapped to her back.

Lori gave a half-lidded stare at her sisters. "Leave it to them to compete on _everything_..." As hypocritical as it was, Lori wasn't in the mood for games. "Just go and find him already! You can thank him later!"

The 17 year old's order immediately got the girls to clam up. Giving grins to each other, the children dispersed in all directions, intent on finding their genius of a wayward brother. Lori looked down at the baby she held in her arms; Lily looked around whilst sucking on her fingers. The teen had to admit, the costumes weren't bad at all, and she could tell Lincoln took extra time thinking of all the styles that suited their personalities: Lynn looked like a weightlifter, Lola was naturally dressed as a Queen of sorts, Luna and Luan were dressed as what could be called an expy of KISS and a medieval fool respectively, and Lucy was wearing a creepy hooded suit and carried a spade that worked well with her affinity towards the darkness and spiritual things.

Lori herself looked akin to a 1970s Formula One racer, which confused her at first. However, the teen knew she had a habit of flooring it when she was in a hurry; it still surprised her that she rarely got a speeding ticket. And, she was still the only Loud sibling with a license, so there's that. With Lily, her costume was fairly simple as it only contained gloves, little booties, and a little piece of paper with the number two taped to a headband. She was a baby after all; and she pooped a lot. What better way to make use of that by throwing feces at bad guys?

Lori started walking along a line of booths as continued to think. Lincoln could've easily given the girls bland or boring powers while keeping the good ones to himself, but it was clear Lincoln spared no creativity when building his sisters' characters. As she looked around, Lori saw several people wearing Ace Savvy costumes. They were more or less the same Lincoln wore, with a slight variation here and there. The Loud started to frown as a certain memory came to mind. Clearly, none of the cosplayers had a problem wearing the titular costume; but apparently the girls found it as an excuse to mock their brother for doing the same thing.

Lisa called it childish even. Yet here they were, enjoying themselves at the same convention Lincoln was trying to go to last year. If irony were a person, it would've slapped Lori in the face by now.

"And I had the nerve to say a book series was worse than my _brother_..." Lori muttered.

"Eh?" Lily asked, looking up at her.

Lori met the infant's gaze and shook her head. "I-It's not about you Lily."

The baby giggled a little before she resumed sucking on her fingers again; clearly she was starting to grow hungry too. As Lori continued walking about the vendors in hopes of finding her brother, she reflected on the reason why he couldn't attend the last convention: clogging the toilet with a Princess Pony book. But something didn't line up right with that statement...

For one, it was well known that Lincoln read comics in his undies; and that actually extends to just about any book he reads when he wants to get comfortable. Needless to say, there was a time when someone barged into his room whilst he was reading some science fiction novel. Now, as many times Lori herself had intruded on his space, she couldn't recall a moment of ever seeing that My Little Pony rip-off in his room. There was a chance he could've hid it under his bed the moment someone entered, but Lincoln wasn't _that _quick. If anything, he just expressed annoyance about being interrupted from his reading.

Then, there was the moment he revealed the book was his. Lori swore Lucy was about to admit to something when Lincoln cut in. She called it a hunch, but Lori had little doubts that book never belonged to Lincoln in the first place. She might've bought the lie before, but she certainly didn't now after thinking about it.

"Either way..." Lori started as she scanned the booths to her left. "I owe him a _long overdue _apology..." She looked to her right, eyeing the benches that had people sitting on them. "But where the heck is he?"

* * *

Luan had been searching for Lincoln and Clyde in an area somewhere off towards the left side of the building, having no luck spotting that unique white-haired top. It didn't help she was occasionally pulled over by random people who wanted to perform a selfie with her and subsequently force the comedian to lose track of where she was.

"Thanks again for the picture!" A woman in her twenties called out to the 'Joker'.

"You're welcome!" Luan replied before turning around, a deep frown on her face. "Not...that's the third person in 10 minutes!" She growled before continuing in her previous direction. "I mean, I know my character was funny, but I'm _kinda _in the middle of looking for my brother for Pete's sake!"

The masked brunette continued down a set of booths, looking to and fro for the white-haired Ace Savvy. "If I were Lincoln, what would I be doing right now?..." Luan hummed in thought, rubbing a finger against her chin. "He wasn't getting a comic signed by Bill Buck, and he _definitely_ wasn't getting a picture taken with that Ace Savvy actor for the movie, which is weird cause Lincoln would totally be into that stuff."

Luan spotted a vendor stand that was selling comics for half their original price. "With those prices, they're practically giving them away!" The jokester chuckled, her smile growing wider as realization hit her. "Which is _exactly_ where Lincoln oughta be!"

Making her way over, Luan scanned all of the patrons looking to score some serious discounts to add to their comic collections. She paid special attention to the kids as there were various Ace and Jack costumes surrounding the general area near the cashiers; along with some allied or villainous characters here and there.

"Lincoln?" Luan called out, looking among the heads of all the children. None looked in her direction.

"Lincoln? Clyde?" Luan called out again, this time earning a few stares from the patrons.

Luan cross checked the crowd for the third time; sadly, nothing stood out that would've pointed her to Lincoln or Clyde. With a sigh, the 'Joker' back away from the crowd. "Gee, Lincoln sure is being a ghost today." She chuckled a little. "But seriously, I hope he didn't get lost..."

The 14 year old continued her search, now walking down a row of empty booths. Because of this, the area certainly felt a little quieter than elsewhere on the floor. "Well, at least I can hear my own thoughts again." Luan chuckled a little.

"This whole thing was pointless Clyde..." Came a voice from somewhere within the vicinity.

Luan stopped in her tracks upon hearing it. "Lincoln?" The 'Joker' grew a bit worried as his voice sounded like it was breaking.

"What do you mean by 'pointless'?" Came Clyde's voice.

"...When you told me that we'd get a shot at being in the movie if we won the contest, I-I thought bringing my sisters along would help our chances..." Luan followed the voice, walking between a pair of empty booths. "They weren't interested until I told them what all of us would win if they came here, and from then it just a matter of getting them familiar with the series. Once we got here, impressing the judges was easy as pie...for my sisters..."

The comedian raised a brow. "What does he mean by that?" She whispered to herself.

With the boys very close, Luan peered around the corner to find the preteens sitting on a bench situated up against the back of the booth she was next to. Clyde was facing her direction but couldn't see her; Lincoln's back was towards Luan, and based on the lack of cloth tied to the back of Lincoln's head, she could tell he had taken his mask off.

"We tried everything to get them to like us, a-and nothing worked. I started to wonder what would happen if we _hadn't_ brought my sisters along...and..." Lincoln pursed his lips before sniffling again. "We'd still come in last place..."

"Lincoln," Clyde started, his tone evident that he wasn't fully getting what Lincoln meant. "You can't say that's for certain. I mean, there would've been other ways we could've-"

Lincoln gritted his teeth as his hands curled into fists. "Yes I can!" He shouted, causing both Luan and Clyde to flinch. "Do you really think after all we just did, it would've been any better?!" Clyde stared in fear at his angry friend, who now had tears spilling out of his eyes. "We would've came in here as Ace and Jack, and we'd _still _lose the competition to someone else!"

Clyde found his voice again upon Lincoln putting a lot of emphasis on the cosplay event. "Lincoln," He held his hands up as a defense in case the Loud lashed out at him. "I know you're upset about not being able to get into the movie, but don't you think there might be a next time?"

"It's not _just _the movie Clyde!" Lincoln spat. "It's...it's..." He gave a loud groan. "It's just how unfair all of this is!" Luan peered a little bit more around the edge of the cloth so she could see her brother fully. "My sisters wouldn't even be here if it weren't for us! They wouldn't be the ones who were going to win the contest if we didn't coach them about what we knew of on Ace Savvy! They didn't even want to come here in the first place! And they don't even _LIKE _Ace Savvy! But _they're_ the ones who get everyone wanting an autograph while we're just left behind?!"

Lincoln panted a bit, which Clyde took as an opportunity to speak. "Well..." He mulled on his words. "Maybe the judges were just looking for something new?"

Lincoln huffed before giving a dry laugh. "New huh? I made a comic about all of my sisters characters for that comic book contest 4 months back. And even after I won, nothing happened with it from what I saw..." Lincoln rapped his fingers on the bench in an agitated manner. "I really wanna be happy for my sisters, I really do. But..." The boy pursed his lips as his eyes started to become wet again. "It's...it hurts..."

Clyde blinked a couple times. "Where?"

Lincoln didn't say anything, but he gave a soft pat to his chest. "I missed the last convention because I had to cover for my sister by getting grounded for something I didn't even do..." Luan had an idea about what that was. "So I was really looking forward to this one, but I can't even enjoy it because..." Lincoln paused, letting out an uneven sigh. "I don't want to blame my sisters for this...but I hoped this contest would finally give me a chance to score a win at something I'm really good at..." Clyde raised a brow, as did Luan. "You know my sisters often mocked me for liking 'dorky' things like Ace Savvy or Muscle Fish, so I wanted to prove them wrong so they could see just how enjoyable this place is; I'd even do a victory dance if they actually admitted it." The Loud paused for a moment as he stared out towards nothing of interest. "I-I guess they like it, but no one even realizes I made up the characters they're dressed up as..."

Luan tugged on her outfit a little, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable wearing her Joker clothing.

"I hoped this would work out for _all_ of us because I'm the Ace Savvy expert of the house..." Lincoln's lip quivered a little. "But all it did was move my sisters up a leg to where they'll be movie stars while I'm still just a boy who does nothing but read comics in his undies..." He rubbed one of his eyes when he felt a tear start to form. "A-And I don't wanna tell Mom and Dad why I didn't end up in the movie with them..."

Tears started to leak out of Lincoln's eyes, his body shaking as a few choked sobs escaped him. "I-I thought I was finally in a spot to prove I'm good at something...and that my hobbies weren't just a joke..." The boy sniffled. "B-But I guess they always were..." He started to feel even worse, gripping his hair tightly in his fingers while scrunching up in his seat. "I-I just don't get it! My sisters make things look so easy...but when I try, I just fall on my face!" The Loud screamed, making Clyde and Luan flinch. "What do they have that I don't?! Why are they always better at everything?!…" The boy vented a little as a choked sob left him. "...A-Am I just a mistake?!..."

Luan had to cover her mouth from letting out a gasp that would've definitely caught their attention; that last sentence shook her to the core. Her instincts were telling her to run out there and comfort her brother in his time of need; but given what she just heard, she wasn't sure how Lincoln would react if she made her presence known.

Lincoln continued to cry as Clyde placed a hand on the Loud's shoulder. To him, losing the chance of being in the movie was devastating, but not something he could cry so readily about. Can't win at everything, as Mr. and Mr. McBride often said. To Lincoln however, Clyde saw that the Loud took up the task as a personal goal that ran deeper than he thought; and that was the problem as to why he couldn't truly understand Lincoln's pain. Sure, he knew getting upstaged in a subject he and Lincoln were more versed in by complete novices when compared to the girls stung something fierce; but that's only as far as it got. Maybe having so many siblings with different traits drove Lincoln to try and feel accomplished, and this was a topic the Loud kept more or less kept to himself.

Clyde pursed his lips a little. He did recall Lincoln once venting about missing the convention last year along with his sisters making fun of him over dressing as his comic book hero, but not once did Lincoln bring up any hints of feeling like he was constantly being overshadowed. And as bad as Lincoln was doing right now, Clyde couldn't help but feel a little elated that he was an only child.

"I don't wanna be here anymore..." Lincoln muttered.

Clyde blinked a couple times as he got pulled from his own thoughts. "Huh?"

"I...I wanna go home..."

Clyde hummed a little. Glancing at the clock, the contest would be over within a half hour. And with the convention due to end not very long after that, the loyal friend felt he had seen enough too.

"Okay..." Clyde started in a solemn tone. "But let's get you to the bathroom first. Don't want to be walking around with your face like that, right?" He smiled, more so as a means to cheer Lincoln up than any real happiness on his part.

Lincoln didn't reciprocate the positive emotion, but nodded his head nonetheless. The two boys got up, with Clyde putting a hand on Lincoln's back as they walked towards the nearest restroom. Luan ducked a little further into her hiding spot so they wouldn't notice her, and as they passed, the comedian got a good look at Lincoln's face. It was no surprise that his eyes were red and puffy, and his nose was a tad runny, but the brunette became even more concerned due to Lincoln's face looking a little paler than usual; not to extreme levels like Lucy, but that type of paleness when someone lacks any energy.

Luan came out of her hiding spot once the boys were far enough away, staring at the retreating form of her distraught brother, a hand instinctively curling into a fist over her heart. Clyde may not understand Lincoln's wounds, but Luan certainly did. Seeing him with his hopes utterly crushed reminded the comedian of a specific moment when she had to do her best to hide her envy. It wasn't towards another rival of sorts, but the person in question was her gothic sister. One of Luan's most sought after personal goals was to perform at the Royal Woods Theater; just about anyone who had an audience there was sure to go big in their respective careers. Whilst the comedian was unable to earn a shot in the spotlight at such a place, Lucy caught a huge break after her teacher expressed great raise for her poem. And the kicker about all of this? Luan dropped some very important advice on how Lucy could become a better poet the day prior.

For a time, Luan felt like Lucy had stolen her dream; and subsequently shunned her for it. However, the comedian learned to support her sister and not let her envy cloud her judgment; especially after Lucy specifically stated she couldn't have gotten that far without her help.

And now, she was watching the same events unfold with her brother. He spent much of last week helping all of them get ready for the convention, and the girls achieved what he had been trying to do without even putting in some real work for the most part; given the rant Luan heard from him, Lincoln and Clyde had to literally bust their butts til they admitted defeat just to get the judges to _notice_ them. It might've been mathematically worse since, unlike Luan's previous dilemma where it was only one sibling earning achieving a dream the other tried so hard to do, all ten of the girls were apparently slated to be the winners of the contest instead.

"I gotta do something...I gotta..." Luan cut herself off as a flurry of emotions hit her at once. She felt sorry for her brother about being denied his dream, anger towards the judges for dismissing her brother and his friend, and a sense of being stuck in the middle as far as what she could do. Upon watching the boys disappear around the corner of a booth, Luan took off after them.

Unfortunately, by the time she got to where they disappeared, the comedian couldn't find them. Looking around, all she was were a bunch of cosplayers that didn't even look remotely close to the boys. "Dang it!" Luan shouted, stomping her foot on the ground. "Where the heck did they..." The comedian bit her lip. "Wait..." She uttered to herself, squinting her eyes a little. "Telling Lincoln it's not the end of the world probably won't do anything...especially if it's just me saying it..."

For a situation this severe, words of encouragement were pointless. Luan frowned as she could vividly picture the scenario in her head. Say her or one of her other siblings learned about the results of the contest and approached Lincoln to offer their condolences. Given his current mood, Luan saw two things happening: either Lincoln would rebuff their apologies and claim they didn't mean it, then storm away to fume and likely cry in private; the second theory was that Lincoln would skip the anger phase entirely and go right into the depression stage.

Luan pursed her lips as a grim look took shape. "It's probably best that Lincoln found out about this _before _the judges made it official..."

With this scenario, Luan figured she and her sisters would be cheering up a storm while being oblivious to the fact Lincoln and Clyde hadn't been included. As a result, Lincoln might feel he had been used by his sisters so they could gain fame and have a huge meltdown; the end result being that he'd either resent his siblings for the rest of his life (which sounds a bit selfish now that Luan thought about it), or he'd feel like he does now, thinking he's a complete loser who could never achieve anything like his sisters, and only exists to live in their shadows.

Luan shook unconsciously. "Wow, I'm getting real dark here. What am I, Lucy?..." She said to no one in particular.

Either way, none of the scenarios played were ideal in the slightest. Luan pursed her lips as her palms turned into fists. She couldn't just sit here and let her brother believe he was some genetic defect! That would just make Lincoln believe the girls only think of him as a tool for their own gains! It almost reached that point once...

And god forbid Lincoln started questioning the worth of his gender. On occasion, one could tell Lincoln sometimes felt like the odd man out due to being the only boy in the family, but-

Luan smacked the side of her head, forcing that train to derail. "Get your head in gear Luan! You can still do something to help..." She muttered to herself, before he shoulders sank a little. "I hope..."

As the comedian stood there for a few moments, her brows furrowed with newfound determination flowing in her veins. Breaking into a sprint, she made a mad dash towards the food court. The others needed to know what was going on, and they needed to act.

_Now..._

* * *

"Well, that was a total waste of time..." Lola grumbled, folding one leg over the other as she massaged her foot. "My feet are killing me..."

"Surprisingly, Lincoln was a lot harder to find than any of us thought." Lucy stated as he picked at her salad. "Could be just all the Ace Savvies in here."

"Eh, it's no big." Luna shrugged, popping another fry into her mouth. "He's probably just out there having fun."

"He better be..." Lynn grumbled irritably. "His disappearing act is almost as good as Lucy's." She took another bite out of her burger.

"Ah, your just mad you didn't find him." Lana chuckled.

Leni sipped on her smoothie for a moment. "Um, I don't think anyone did?"

Lisa took a moment to swallow her pizza. "Luan is still absent, and has been ever since we convened here. I theorize that she is either very determined to find Lincoln, or is currently bringing him back as we speak."

Lori browsed through her phone to check her messages. "Well she obviously hadn't found him, cause I'd see a few gloating texts from her."

The group soon heard the sound of rapid footfalls coming towards them. Within seconds, Luan slowed to a stop next to their table, putting her hands on her knees as she fought to regulate her breathing.

"Speak of the devil, and you shall receive." The 4 year old muttered before sipping her juice.

"Woah mate. Where's the fire?" Luna asked.

"Lincoln...not doing well..." Luan sputtered out, leaning up as she took a deep breath.

Lori raised a brow. "What about Lincoln?"

Lynn folded her arms as she frowned at the comedian. "So you found him?"

"Yeah...but..." Luan took another deep breath, catching the edge of the table for balance. "That's not the point! He's a total sad sack right now!"

Lori stared at her comedic sister with an incredulous look. "Lincoln? Being _sad_ at an _Ace Savvy convention_?" She replied with a bit of snark. "He's probably like a kid in a candy store here."

Luan glared at her oldest sibling for a moment before rolling her eyes. "Should've been a little clearer..." She muttered to herself before dialing her volume back up. "I'm not kidding! Lincoln's so sad that he might give up on comics _forever_!"

The other girls stopped whatever they were doing and stared at Luan. It was probably an exaggeration, but when one sibling states that another was likely giving up a hobby they deeply cherished, it was to be treated as a Code Red situation.

"Luan." Lori started, a bit of edge in her tone. "What's going on with Lincoln?..."

"It went like this..." Luan grabbed a chair from a nearby table and pulled it up to the girls' table. "I found him and Clyde sitting around an empty part of the floor, and Lincoln was talking about how the judges were going to pick us as the winners for the contest."

Lola raised a brow. "Why would he be sad over _that_? Isn't that why we came here?"

"When he said 'us', he was referring to _only_ us!" Luan gestured to every girl at the table. "They're gonna pick the Full Deck," Luan glanced to the side. "Or whatever our team is called, and leave Lincoln and Clyde out of it!"

The others gasped at this revelation.

"That's bogus man!" Luna shouted, slamming a fist on the table. "That's like my band going on tour without me, and I wrote most of the songs!"

Lynn cracked her knuckles. "Those stupid judges will think twice when _I'm _through with 'em!"

"If I had real superpowers," Lola adjusted the crown on her head. "I'd turn them into swiss cheese!"

"I'll ask them what they would like their epitaphs to read..." Lucy added in a cold tone.

"Girls, girls!" Lori yelled, silencing the group. "Threatening them with violence isn't going to help. And as much as I'd want to make them reconsider, there's a bigger issue we need to focus on." She focused back in Luan. "Luan, where is Lincoln now?"

"Clyde took him to a bathroom to clean his face." Luan pursed her lips a little. "But that's not the worst of it. From what I heard him say, Lincoln and Clyde tried to do whatever they could to impress the judges, but everything seemed to fall apart. Now..." Luan paused, giving a heavy sigh as she prepared to deliver the worst news ever. "Lincoln feels like we're just better than him no matter what he does..."

"Well that's baloney!" Lana replied as he stood up in her chair. "Just cause he doesn't know how to tune an engine doesn't mean he's better than me!"

"You're the _only _one who knows how to fix cars Lana." Her younger twin pointed out. "Dad sure doesn't." Lola folded her arms. "But unlike you, I'm the beauty expert in this family."

Lynn gave a loud snort at Lola's comment. "Well, both of you couldn't handle sports if you tried. Lana, maybe." The family athlete waved her hand in a so-so manner. "But definitely not you Lola."

The pageant winner rolled her eyes. "Who wants to roll around in grass and mud anyway?" Within seconds after saying this, she whipped her head towards Lana, who had her mouth open as if she'd say something. "_Besides _you."

Luan pinched the bridge between her eyes while dispelling an irate sigh through her nose. This was getting a little off topic, and she felt she wasted enough time just explaining the whole situation. "Yeah, we get it; none of you could master comedy like I did, but that's beside the point!"

"Then what _DO _you mean Luan?" Lucy leaned against the table. "It's not like we're gonna become comic book or video game experts overnight."

"Yeah, and I still think science fiction is boring." Lisa frowned a little at Luan's comment. "But I can say for a _fact _that what's really eating our brother is he thinks his dream of being in an Ace Savvy movie won't come true."

The girls had uneasy looks on their faces.

"And if we don't do something soon, he'll never get a chance like this again!" The 'Joker' added.

Luna raised her hands a little. "Relax sis, we got this. All we gotta do is get the judges to let Link and Clyde on board with us. Should be easy cause," 'Night Club' shrugged a little. "It ain't like they got other choices, right?"

Luan pursed her lips in thought. "Well...no. It didn't sound like it." She tapped her finger on the table. "But they could change their mind at the last moment."

Lola's pupils shrank a bit before she glared heatedly at the comedian. "Like _HECK _they are!" The 'Queen' declared before jumping onto the table. "There's no way we're missing out on this golden opportunity to become movie stars!"

Lucy folded her arms. "So you're actually _okay _with Lincoln being left behind? Where he will be forever stuck in a grave filled with grief?" Behind the dark bangs of 'Spade's' hair, you could barely make out the cold glare she cast forth.

Unfortunately, this went over Lola's head. Turning towards the emo, "No, dummy!" She spat as her hands formed into tight fists. "He's _getting _in that movie just as much as we are, and I won't settle for nothing less!" Lola brought a hand up to her chin. "Just need to figure out what kind of dirt I can dig up on those two..."

Lisa looked at her watch. "I hope you plan to be punctual about it, because there's only 30 minutes and 45 seconds remaining before the contest deadline."

Lynn smirked a little. "Talk is cheap anyways." She cracked her knuckles a little. "I'm sure a few minutes alone with us will make them reconsider."

Lily shook her head. "No! Incon!"

"Can we check on him first?" Lana added.

"But if we go trackin' down our bro and Clyde, we won't get enough time to get the big wigs to rethink their choice!" Luna argued.

"But Lincoln's sad right now!" Leni countered. "He needs us!"

"28 minutes and 40 seconds remaining." Lisa droned out.

Lynn unleashed a semi-controlled growl as she sent a warning glare towards 'Card Counter'. "We have clocks on our phones you know!"

As the arguments on what action to take flew back and forth across the table, Lori couldn't help but twitch her eye at the ongoing debate. The girls were really starting to live up to their surnames, seeing as the arguing warranted a few onlookers; Lori had to shoo them away with a heated stare of her own.

Unfortunately, the argument wasn't an easy thing to settle. She could easily shoot down the idea of finding the judges and convince them (with WORDS, not fists) that Lincoln and Clyde deserved to be in that movie as much as the girls did; knowing her brother was off somewhere crying a river was putting her sisterly instincts into overdrive. Yet, Lola was correct in the fact an opportunity like this rarely presents itself, and as selfish as it may sound, Lori did like the idea of appearing on the big screen; even if it might only be for a few minutes.

Lori shook her head. _"Come on Lori, focus!" _As the yelling started to become a shouting match, the oldest sibling finally ran out of patience. "ENOUGH!"

The rest of the Louds stopped their quarreling at the order of their oldest sister, soon giving their undivided attention towards the unspoken leader. "Look, both are good ideas, and there's enough of us to do both. Now, who's in favor of finding Lincoln?" Lori asked, raising her hand.

Lana, Luan, Lily, and Leni did the same.

"I'm guessing the rest of you want to find the judges?" Lori spoke quickly, earning a nod from the remaining sisters. "Alright, everyone who raised their hand, we're finding Lincoln and Clyde." She stood up a second after that declaration. "Everyone else, go find the people running this whole thing and get them to let the boys on board." 'High Card' made a quick glare towards Lynn, who was rubbing her hands together with a smirk. "And _no fights _Lynn!" Pointing a threatening finger at her, "You get us kicked out, not only will I get Mom and Dad to ground you, I'm popping all of your sports balls too!"

Lynn glared at the oldest sibling, folding her arms as she sank a little in her seat. She could tell when Lori was just spitting hot air, as her threats would also get the older teen in trouble with their parents. Unfortunately, Lori wasn't making an idle threat today, and Lynn knew it would be in her best interest to obey.

Without another word, the girls divided into their teams before heading off in different directions. Luan led the way for Lori's team, recalling the general location the boys were last seen. Luna and Lisa walked in a brisk pace, discussing what they could do to convince the judges to take up their idea; Lola would occasionally force in her own opinion, which was already getting shot down by the two brunettes. Lucy lagged behind the trio, seemingly disinterested. In actuality, 'Spade' was keeping an eye on 'Strong Suit' as the tomboy grumbled about being kept on a leash.

In spite of the differing goals, all of the Full House had one sentiment in common: they hoped it wasn't too late to change the likely outcome of what was bound to happen.

* * *

"Ok, that will be $8.50 Ma'am." A clerk smiled at the customer before receiving the correct amount of cash. Being given a $10 bill, the cashier took out the appropriate change before putting the two limited edition comic issues into a bag before handing it back to the customer. "Have a good day, and be sure to deal out some justice!"

The kid smiled before giving a salute and skipping away with their parent in tow.

The next person in line, a young kid probably around 10 years of age, walked up. "Do you still have a copy of issue #56 with the special cover on it?"

The cashier smiled. "Let me see..." Turning around, the older man went from being content to pure confusion as the box he kept all of the special issues in was missing. "What the?..." He looked around, leaning down to open a few other boxes. "I could've sworn I-"

"Mister?" The kid asked.

"Ah, dang it." The man stood up before facing the kid. "Sorry little dude, but it seems I'm all out..."

"Aw..." The child spoke dejectedly before walking away in a slump.

The man couldn't help the feeling of guilt filling his chest. One of the main reasons he liked working at conventions was to make children smile, in addition to making a little extra cash on stuff that would be clearly overpriced. However, he couldn't do any of those with his stock missing. Putting up a folded 'Closed' sign, the man turned around once more and looked about the merchandise he had stacked around. "Where the heck did those comics go?" He leaned down to open another box, only to find it was completely empty.

Furrowing his brows, "What the actual-"

At another booth, a woman was selling specially made Ace Savvy action figures; the type you normally wouldn't find on a shelf at Toys-R-Us (if it still exists). Currently, she was busy with a group of kids dressed as a couple heroes and villains looking to add some figurines to their collection; or to play with and eventually destroy them. It didn't matter to her, it was just her job to sell them.

The woman tapped the edge of her notebook with her pen. "Ok, so you need a Card Shark, Wild Card Willy, Card Countess, and...who else?"

"A newer version of Ace Savvy!" One of the boys yelled.

"What?" A girl glared at her friend. "You already _have_ that one! I need a figurine of High Roller's truck!"

"What about One-Eyed Jack's monocle?" A third person chimed in.

"Uh, I think you're thinking about that booth over there." The woman pointed to a distant stand selling wearable merchandise and cosplay kits.

While the kids were busy discussing what they needed, and the woman starting to run out of patience with all the indecisiveness, no one noticed a pair of hands sliding underneath the rear curtain. The hands felt around until they landed on a box, with one of them immediately feeling the merchandise they held. Upon touching what was believed to be action figures, the hands quickly grabbed the sides of the box and pulled it back behind the curtain. Two other pairs did the same for adjacent boxes.

The woman shook her head as the kids started to argue amongst each other, turning around to idly check if she had even half the things they wanted. Her eyes promptly bugged out to find her sellable stock was gone. "What the-?"

"Hey!" One of the boys yelled, casting a hard glare at the cashier. "You don't even have anything back there!"

The clerk only gave him a look of disproval. "Look, kid. I know for a _fact_ I had some stuff back here, and I could accuse one of you kids for stealing." She folded her arms. "But I won't, cause I got no idea if you even had something to do with it." She bent down for a moment before putting a 'Closed' sign on the front table. "Now if you don't mind, I gotta call my boss and ask if he got anymore."

It was then the kids noticed a walkie-talkie in her other hand. "But what about-?" One of the boys started.

"Dude, she doesn't have anything. So let's go find someone who _does_." The girl stated in a tone that sounded like an order.

The boy in question hung his head in disappointment before the kids walked off towards a different booth.

The woman pressed a button on her handheld radio, waiting a couple seconds for it to activate. Putting it to her ear, "Hey, Kal. You gotta more boxes of those action figures?..." The woman furrowed her brows as a heated response came over the line. "What do you mean 'What did I do'?! I had _three whole boxes_, and now they've gone missing!"

This trend was repeated among a few other vendors selling unique or rare items, which included but were not limited to: portraits, clothing, some backpacks, and even a couple signed books. However, the reaction was mixed among the people who ran the booths; some believed they had such good business that they simply ran out of stock, but others only had confusion or anger at the idea that someone could've been stealing from the vendors. Regardless, it was forcing stands to close up shop, some of which being worried they wouldn't be able to restock their shelves before the convention ended.

Elsewhere on the floor however, a group of cosplayers moved stealthily behind a row of booths, each one carrying a stack of boxes. The group reached a nearby double-doored exit, with the person in lead propping the door with their foot so the others could pass. Once the group had exited, the last person looked around to make sure they weren't being followed, only exiting after feeling confident they didn't have a tail.

Now outside in direct sunlight, one could catch a clear glimpse of the group. All of them appeared to be teenagers or young adults at the very least, with the exception of one person that was clearly overweight. Their costumes included an Ace Savvy, a Wild Card Willy, a Card Shark, an obese High Roller, a Card Countess, and an Old Maid.

"Man, this stuff is heavy!" 'Shark' complained, leaning back to stretch his spine.

"Heavy? Pfff." 'Willy' chortled, dusting his gloves off. "You just ain't workin' out enough." His voice had a slight Aussie accent to it.

'Ace' pulled out a boxed-up figurine from his stash, a bored expression clear for all to see. "What's the point of these dumb toys again?" He stared blankly at the Ace Savvy preserved behind the plastic. Wanting to keep his fingers busy, he started to pick at the tape securing the top of the box. "Not like anyone is gonna miss them..."

'High Roller' let out a gasp before smacking 'Ace's' hand. "D-D-Don't do that!" He stuttered out, snatching the box out of the teen's grasp.

'Ace' glared at the obese man as he shook the stinging sensation out of his hand. "The heck was that for?!"

"Do you know how much someone would pay for this stuff in mint condition?!" 'High Roller' spoke in a flat tone, patting the tape down until it looked as if no one peeled it.

'Card Countess' bit her cheek as she gave a half-lidded stare towards the two. "$8?...that's literally how much that thing's worth..."

The fat man rolled his eyes. "No, dummies." Holding up the box with one hand, "This _Limited Edition _Ace Savvy figurine from the Cold Days saga is worth _hundreds _if it's kept fresh from the factory; thousands even, depending on the layout."

'Ace' furrowed his brows at the fatty. "Who the hell is gonna shell out _that _much cash for a stupid toy?!"

"It's not like the kids are getting them for some dumb collection." 'Old Maid' pointed out. In spite of her costume, she sounded like someone not older than twenty.

"All more of the reason we liberated them from this sham of a convention." 'High Roller' pushed his glasses up a bit. "Not that I would expect any of you newbs to understand. Besides, it was on our To-Do list."

"What kind of list calls for a bunch toys and, whatever else we grabbed?" 'Willy' leaned against a small stack of boxes. He was about to continue, stopping for a moment when the group heard a monotonous ringing coming from 'Old Maid's pocket. "Then again, this _is _a kid we're dealing with here."

'Old Maid' plucked her phone out. Seconds passed before her eyebrows knitted together in a sharp V as she glared at the screen. As much as she didn't want to pick up, the woman had little choice in the grand scheme of things. Giving an exasperated sigh, she opened up the call. "I told you not to call my phone!"

_"I can call whoever I want lady! In case you forget, I'm the one with all the money in the world here!_" A childish voice screeched over the phone's speaker.

"A spoiled kid no less..." 'Countess' muttered.

"Hey!" 'Ace' spoke loudly to make sure his voice was heard. "What we gonna do with all these toys tiny? I know for a fact you won't get through half these things before calling a quits."

_"They aren't for _me_, idiot. They're-"_

"Then what are we doing grabbing all this stuff for?!" 'Shark' cut in, coming closer to the phone.

_"It's called a _DISTRACTION, _dummies! With all the toys going missing, they'll have security too focused on protecting some worthless toys to care about anything else! Trust me, I've seen this work on TV before."_

"Oh really." 'Old Maid' folded her arms. "Which cartoon did you pull this stunt from?"

Silence filled the void for a few, precious seconds before the child's whiny tone returned in force. "_THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BEESWAX! Now don't question me again, or you're not getting _any _of my hard-earned money!"_

"Wouldn't that be your parents'-" 'High Roller' started before having his mouth clamped shut by 'Ace'.

Casting a glare at the obese fanatic, "Some of us would like to make ten grand when this farce is over."

"If we don't get caught." 'Countess' pointed out, placing a hand on her hip. "How do we even know if the cameras weren't watching us the whole time?"

"Or if you're planning on crossing us..." 'Old Maid' added, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

_"Don't worry about the cameras, I got the BEST guy in the business blinding them as we speak. You could snatch a lollipop and not get caught!" _The child boasted. _"And why would I even think about double crossing you? You're all my friends here!" _

The undertone of that statement was so sickeningly sweet that it made the group cringe.

_"Now get that stuff to the van my butler left, and get back to stealing to keep those cops busy! My REAL present is almost ready. Muhahahaha!" _The child gave what would be assumed as a faux evil laugh before the line went dead.

"And just _how _does he expect us to keep this up?" 'Ace' growled, looking at the stolen merchandise. "We practically looted half the floor!"

"Actually, according to the amount of stock we acquired, " 'High Roller' adjusted his glasses as he scanned every box around them. "We've only hit 20% of the convention vendors."

"Either way, this is getting too risky." 'Countess' stated. "Ten grand or not, money's worthless if you're in jail."

'Old Maid' gave a dark chuckle. "A pretty face like you wouldn't last long in the big house. Might end up on the bottom more times than you could count."

'Countess' had a twitch in her eye for a split second before a cold glare was brought out in force. It didn't help the guys behind her were snickering to themselves like the oafs they were. The dark-dressed woman cracked her fingers individually, her arm twitching as if she were ready to strike.

"I'm not the one dressed like an old bitch, now am I?" Came the vampire cosplayer's venomous response.

The guys started hollering with laughter as 'Old Maid' was utterly kicked off her high horse. The woman's cheeks reddened with anger as her lips parted, showing gritted teeth. "I would've picked Card Countess if you hadn't taken the suit first!"

"That sounds like a 'you' problem." 'Countess' retorted, soon becoming distracted as the idiots behind her couldn't keep their giggle fits to themselves.

Picking up a box, she threw it at the closest male to her, which happened to be 'Willy'. The cowboy went down in a heap, causing the guys to quit their bellowing just as 3 more boxes were flung at them. 'Shark' wound up catching one with his groin, 'High Roller' got lucky and turned just as the box bounced off his side, and 'Ace' got tripped up as the incoming object slammed into his legs.

"If you're done," 'Countess started, dusting off her hands. "Get your asses up and get this crap out of here before a security guard shows up." Without another word, the dark-clothed woman walked past the groaning men and re-entered the building, slamming the door shut behind her.

'Old Maid' shook her head. "This is one messed up group this kid hired..."

'High Roller' opened the box that hit him, relieved that it was only full of clothes. "She should be lucky nothing appears to have been broken. How else am I going to make a profit on eBay?"

The woman bit her lip. _"Officially putting you in the weirdo pile..." _She pinched the bridge of her nose whilst releasing a frustrated sigh. "This so-called 'present' _better _be worth this shitpile of a headache..."

**A/N: I was originally going to keep the half-remake into a single chapter, but I started to realize how long it would be and felt dividing it into two parts would've been best. Now, you may have seen some parallels with my other works in some fashion or the old diehard cliché where certain episodes like Sleuth or Consequences keeps getting brought up. I partly blame the fact there's few episodes that reference Ace Savvy or use it as a plot point, but I'll try to avoid the whole predictable thing where Lucy reveals she was really the owner of that book.**

**As far as Lincoln's emotional state, some may find it hard to believe him being a quitter, as he is clearly shown to have fierce determination when the situation calls for it. However, as seen in the actual episode, they threw his moral integrity out the window in order to keep the plot moving; something many find to be either lazy or just bad writing. However, in the grand scheme of things, if Lincoln and Clyde hadn't thought of committing their own crime, I doubt there was anything they could've done; even with the girls support. Producers can be a pain in the ass to bargain with unless they were really desperate, which wasn't the case canon-wise.**

**That is...unless an outside force started causing trouble ;). Part two will feature much more mystery and crime solving while drama takes a back seat.**


	2. Crime Never Pays Pt 2

**A/N: Annnnnnnd we're back. The Loud girls are looking to find their brother whilst seeking out the judges that dared to make the boys feel worthless. But something big is occurring behind the scenes, and soon the Full House will find themselves caught in the middle of it.**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from the Loud House.**

It wasn't a long trek towards the area Luan last saw the boys. Along the way, the girls hoped it would be much easier if Lincoln and Clyde decided to seek them out instead of the other way around. Sadly, the lack of texts from their brother told a different story. Lori already tried calling him, followed by Luan, and Leni (who put in the wrong numbers and called some stranger's phone). Feeling they might lose track of them more than they already have, the group spread among the corner of the convention where the boys were thought to have been. Luan checked around all the bathrooms, even giving some people a rough description of the boys and asking if they'd seen them; Lori (and Lily by extension) searched the booths while calling out for her brother, with the oldest sibling calling his phone numerous times and leaving growingly frustrated messages; Lana (humorously) checked _under _all the stands, winding up getting herself shooed away a few times; and Leni asked random cosplayers if they had seen an Ace and Jack, but failed to give more details that would've stood out.

Naturally, the girls were a little irritated at that last one.

Realizing the boys weren't in the area Luan last saw them, the group broadened their search, going from one end to the next. The idea to make an announcement through the service desk was floated, but only if they had no other choice. Going in a widened linear fashion, the girls went from one side of the convention to halfway across the building, covering each area of interest in hopes of finding the two missing children.

As each minute passed, the sisters grew more and more anxious, not seeing hide nor hair of Lincoln _or_ Clyde. Lori checked the time on her phone, her irritation almost reaching its tipping point as no texts or calls from Lincoln had been made. Instead of going into a rage like one might expect, the oldest sibling breathed in before letting out a more controlled breath.

_"Getting angry isn't going to help anyone right now..." _Lori huffed internally, readjusting her hold on Lily before her thumbs typed away at a brisk pace.

_[Everyone meet at the front entrance...] _Was the message she sent to her party.

After a minute of walking, Lori sat on one of the benches, placing her infant sister next to her. For the moment, Lily appeared to be distracted with pretending her Ace Savvy figurine was an airplane, making faux jet noises as she steered it through the air above her.

Lori flared her nose a little as a small smirk grew. _"At least she's not crying." _Was her thought before being promptly shaken out of them as Luan and Lana approached. The fact they were empty handed spoke volumes. "You couldn't find him either?" Lori spoke in an obvious, empty tone.

Luan slumped her shoulders. "No..."

"I didn't find Clyde or Lincoln," Lana started as she reached behind her. "But I found this cool wrench someone left under a booth!" Pulling out the aforementioned tool, the other girls saw it was a large, black, adjustable monkey wrench. If anyone could guess, it was probably half as big as the little mechanic.

Lori rolled her eyes. "That's nice Lana..."

"Guys! I found him!" Came Leni's voice, making the girls turn their heads towards her.

At first, they perked up at the fact Leni found one of the boys, hopefully their brother at best. Instead, mixed negative emotions were spread out on their faces; Luan facepalmed, Lana had a disapproving frown, Lily just shook her head, and Lori furrowed her brows in great irritation.

"He was over by the food court getting a hotdog!" Leni told them as she let go of the person who was _CLEARLY_ not Lincoln.

"Leni..." Lori started in an even tone, pinching the bridge of her nose. "For the last, freaking time..." Glaring hotly at her roommate, "THAT'S JUST SOMEONE DRESSED AS OLD MAID!"

Leni recoiled under Lori's harsh tone, rubbing her arm nervously. "B-But I thought-"

"And I'm a _girl_, thank you!" The kid blew a raspberry at Leni before walking off.

"That's the third time you've done that." Luan added.

"Poo-poo..." Lily nodded.

"I-I'm sorry..." Leni lowered her head in shame, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. "I just really wanted to find Linky..."

Lori sighed. "We know Leni. But you can't keep grabbing random people just because they _might _look like Lincoln. You have to be _certain_ it's him."

"And, security might throw you out otherwise." 'Joker' added before turning to Lori. "He _still _hasn't called?"

"No." Lori growled a little. "I _know_ Lincoln would've picked up if any of us called him." Her eyelids narrowed a little. "Unless someone _took _his phone..."

Lana shifted her stance, feeling a little uncomfortable as she used the wrench as support. "You...don't think he might be in trouble, do you?"

"I'm hoping he's not..." Lori stated firmly, though her body language told everyone the opposite.

Lily sat the toy on her seat as she stole a glance out the window, her eyes scanning the front parking lot and the various persons milling about. Her small mind didn't register anyone aside from the typical curious staring most babies do, but as she panned to the right, the infant made a questioning noise while tilting her head. Climbing off the seat, 'Deuce' wobbled over to the spot of the window she was looking at, growing excited when the baby recognized the two boys sitting outside on a different bench.

"Incon! Incon!"

The older sisters looked towards their infant sibling, seeing her rapping a flat palm on the glass panel.

"Incon!" Lily shouted again, growing a little frustrated as neither boy turned towards her.

Lori got up and walked over, under the impression that Lily might be making the same mistake Leni did. "Lily..." She started in a smooth tone. "Just because someone has white hair," Taking a pause to glance at the kids sitting outside, "An orange polo and blue jeans, doesn't mean-" Her eyes widened as her lips thinned into a straight line whilst that last sentence echoed in her head. Lori looked back at the boys, studying their clothing carefully to make sure she wasn't just assuming things.

"They've been right here this whole time?!" 'High Card' suddenly shouted.

The other sisters gathered around; Luan and Lana sighed in relief while Leni let out a gasp.

"Lincoln and Clyde have got to be the best Hide and Seek champions."

Ignoring that comment, "Outside, now!" Lori ordered, pointing towards the nearest exit.

On the other side of the window, Lincoln and Clyde gave a synchronized sigh as they continued slumping in their seats, completely unaware of the girls' presence as they moved towards the exit. Both boys were dressed in their regular day attire, having changed out of their costumes some 20 minutes beforehand. Clyde still appeared to be handling the disappointment well, though Lincoln was only faring marginally better than before. His eyes were no longer completely red, and his face was back to its usual color; but he still looked drained and his eyelids were a little puffy. The Loud rubbed at his left eye, feeling the stinging sensation that came after having cried to the point he felt he no longer could.

Clyde checked his phone as another text came in, pocketing the device a couple seconds later. "Welp, my dads are stuck in traffic, so it'll be a little while before they get here."

"Uggghhhhh..." Lincoln sighed exasperatedly. "I wish _walking _home was an option."

"Actually," Clyde took his phone out and opened the navigation app. "It is." He showed the phone to Lincoln, which had his friend's house selected as the destination. "But it takes a couple hours."

Lincoln pushed the phone away from his face. "Might be worth doing if this takes any longer..." He looked around at the other cosplayers, the sound of laughter and joy making feel a little sick in the stomach. _"At least they're lucky they don't have to be left behind by TEN siblings...if they have any..." _He shifted his position slightly, folding his arms a little tighter. _"I really gotta get away from this place...especially before my sisters get casted for the movie..."_

"Boys!" Lincoln and Clyde flinched a little as they were momentarily pulling from their shroud of depression before their heads to their right, spotting the five Loud sisters running over.

"We've been looking everywhere for you!" Lori spoke, her breath hitching a little as she was coming down from that sprint. She looked at Lincoln with a small glare. "And I've called you _several times_! Why didn't you answer your phone?"

Lincoln looked away from Lori as he pulled out his device, a bout of confusion clear on his face. He didn't feel any vibrations or ringing from his phone, but he could've had it on silent. He pressed the power button, but nothing happened. Furrowing his brows, he pressed it a few more times; it refused to change from the endless dark screen that stared back at him.

"My phone's dead..." The boy muttered, pocketing the mobile. "And why would you girls be out here?...Don't you have a contest to win?..." The bitterness in that last sentence didn't go unnoticed by anyone.

"Well, yeah." Lana started, "But we can't do this without you!"

"Um, like, where are your costumes?" Leni asked.

Clyde bit his cheek, wondering if Lincoln was going to answer first. When the Loud hadn't piped up, Clyde pointed towards the backpack that sat on the ground. "Mine's in here."

Everyone else looked at Lincoln, expecting some kind of answer. The middle child pursed his lips in a mixture of nervousness and anger from the pressure, giving a heated groan shortly after.

"...I threw mine away..."

The girls gave a collective gasp. "I tried to tell him it was a bad idea!" Clyde added.

"Why would you do that?!" Luan asked, her mouth slightly agape.

"You literally spent _days _remaking it!" Lori stated.

Lincoln shrugged a little. "I didn't see the point in using it anymore..."

"But how are we gonna get you and Clyde back into the contest without your suit?" Lana added.

Lincoln furrowed his brows before whipping his head in her direction. "Why do you guys want us in it so much?! You've gained a lot more attention than either of us, maybe the entire con combined, _and_ you're gonna win it _EASILY! _So why would you care?!" He gripped his arms, not caring about the marks he was imprinting on his skin. "You just want us to make you look good even more, don't you?!"

"Lincoln," The comedian started in a calm tone, a little unphased by the boy's irritation. "It's not what you think."

"Really? Because if I remember a couple days ago, _NONE _of you cared about coming to a 'geeky', 'boring', and 'stupid' convention until I mentioned the casting contest!" Lincoln put big emphasis on the adjectives used to describe the event. "That was pretty much the _only _reason you girls came with us, while me and Clyde had been planning to come since it was first announced _last year!_" He tore his gaze away from them as the boy continued to fume on the spot. "Well you got what you wanted, _without even trying like always mind you. _So thanks for using us as a pair of stairs to fame..." Lincoln turned his head a little so his face wouldn't be within view of his sisters; fresh tears were starting to form in his eyes, and he didn't want them to see him crying.

No one said a word, unsure if they could form the right sentences to ease the white-haired child's anger. Clyde looked at the girls and motioned with his eyes towards their brother.

"Do something!" He mouthed to them.

Lori dispelled a sigh through her nose. "We already know we're going to win Lincoln." She looked over at the 'Joker'. "Luan overheard you guys earlier. But we're not here to gloat, use you, or anything you might think is negative..." She handed Lily over to Leni, walking up to her brother's seat until she was kneeling next to him. Even then, Lincoln still refused to look at her. "At first, we were excited to hear we had this in the bag, until Luan told us the judges planned to leave you two out of it. We already started thinking it wasn't fair that they chose _only _us, it got worse when Luan told us how you were _really _feeling..."

"Not like any of _you_ would understand how I feel about it..." Lincoln muttered.

"I do." Luan spoke up before walking over. "Remember that time Lucy had a poem recital at the Royal Woods Theater?"

Lincoln blinked, a couple shallow tears leaving a trail down his cheeks. "Yes..."

"You may find it hard to believe Lincoln, but I felt just like you are right now..." 'Joker' leaned on the back of the bench. "I was _very _jealous of Lucy because she managed to get into the ONE place of entertainment I _dreamed _of performing in since I was five. I gave her some advice a couple days before to that helped Lucy deal with stage fright, and the next thing I knew, she came home saying her teacher wanted her to recite her poem at the theater." Luan rapped her fingers a little on the metal surface. "How did you feel after knowing you weren't going to be part of the movie?..."

Lincoln bit his cheek. "Sad?...Crushed?..." His nose flared as he drew in a sniffle. "Jealous that I tried hard to win at something but failed, while you guys barely had to do anything?..." He huffed a little as he shifted his posture a bit. "And I've known way more about Ace Savvy than you girls for _years_?..." He growled.

"Ok ok." Luan said quickly, not wanting him to go into another rant. "But that's exactly what I felt when Lucy first broke the news to me. I initially blew her off when she came to me for more advice..." The brunette sighed. "But I couldn't stay mad at her forever. It's not her fault she happened to reach a goal earlier and so easily while I still have to try and get a shot. I mean, it stung a lot, sure."

"Like a bee sting?" Leni asked.

Luan shook her head. "More like, I couldn't sleep well for over a week. But Lucy was very thankful for the advice I gave her, and even made it clear during her recital she wouldn't be where she was if I hadn't helped her."

Lincoln stole a glance at her, making Luan bite her tongue as she stated at his reddish, tear-leaking eye. "Well, you wouldn't be on the verge of being movie stars if I hadn't gotten you suited up and gave basic knowledge about Ace Savvy." He looked away once more. "And look how that turned out..."

Lori rolled her eyes a little. "Ok Lincoln, we get it. You think we used you to get a chance at fame after dissing you for liking Ace Savvy for a long as you can remember, and unknowingly making you ride our coattails. You're really upset, and we understand that." She put a hand on his shoulder, feeling him tense up but he didn't try to move her hand away. "But the truth is...we were wrong."

Clyde raised a brow, as did Lincoln.

"Yeah, Ace Savvy is a bit dorky, but we actually _enjoyed _coming out here with you, whether we want to admit it or not. We practically shoved the contest to the back of our heads after getting so absorbed into the lore of the series." Lori frowned a little as she thought about the other group of siblings. "Well, most of us. But after spending some time here, we saw _why _you enjoy Ace Savvy so much."

Leni smiled. "I totes love how the styles fit each character."

"Poo-poo." Lily agreed.

"And I wanna break High Roller's truck to see what's under the hood." Lana added with a smug grin, padding the wrench in her hand.

"And, I know this is _waaay _overdo," Lori stood up for a second before taking a seat next to her brother. "But I'm sorry for dissing you about liking comic books and dressing up as Ace. Just because I wasn't into it (til now) doesn't mean I should've used that to belittle you." She paused before adding, "And I'm sorry for saying Princess Pony was worse than you..."

Clyde had his mouth agape as his eye squinted a little. "Wha?"

"It's a long story." Luan replied.

"But you're wrong if you think we're just going to let you lose out on something you _deserve _to have a part in." Lori gripped the sleeve of her outfit. "See these?"

Lincoln didn't react, still thinking over his sister's words. For one, he never expected _Lori_ of all people to apologize for rudely dismissing his interests, much less take her words back from that one incident with the toilet. Heck, pretty much everything she just said went against how he believed his sisters would act based on past moments similar to this.

"Lincoln...can you please look for a moment?" Lori asked in a caring, almost motherly tone. Lincoln gazed at the ground before finally deciding to turn so he could fully face her. He grew a little confused as she tugged at her suit. "_You _made all of our characters Lincoln. None of us could've thought up something like this overnight. You took days, _months even, _to plan our outfits and powers; but those idiot judges don't even realize we're _your _creations." She let go of her suit before placing both hands on his shoulders. "And we're going to set the record straight, or their movie isn't going to be as glamorous as they hoped."

Lincoln bit his cheek, taking a moment to clear his eyes. While he still felt upset at getting upstaged and outshined so easily by his siblings, his chest and stomach felt a bit lighter at least. It wasn't uncommon that the girls would pull together to help him, at least without wanting a favor in return. He didn't show it, but Lincoln was thankful the girls were taking an 'All or Nothing' approach. Before, there was nothing but certainty that the girls would just reap the rewards and leave him without anything to show for his work, thus leaving him in an awkward position he wouldn't want to talk about.

But now...

_"I STILL don't know my sisters that well..."_ The middle child mused to himself.

"Besides, it's better you found out _now _instead of when the judges made their choice at the end. Imagine how _that _would've turned out." Luan suggested.

"...Probably would've been worse..." Lincoln muttered. "But even if you wanted to get me in," He looked up at Lori. "How could you guys even do that? The contest ends in," He pulled out his phone out of his pocket slightly to check the time. "Five minutes...and I threw my costume away..."

"Well, the others went to hunt down the judges and get them to change their minds." Lori paused in thought. "Which, now that I think about it, was a good idea. I doubt you'd want to hear Lynn or Lola's version of 'helping' you feel better, much less _Lucy's..._"

Lincoln cringed a bit. "Y-Yeah..." His sisters would have the best intentions, but proper wordplay wasn't their best attribute half the time...

'High Card' removed one of her hands and rested it on the head of the bench. "Feeling better?"

"Not...really..." Lincoln replied, rubbing his nose before sniffing. "But I don't feel _completely _hopeless anymore."

'High Card' gave a half-lidded stare. "That means you're getting there bro."

Clyde sniffled as his eyes watered. "That was...so beautiful!" He whipped out a tissue from his pocket and blew into it.

Luan squinted an eye in disgust. "Do...do you carry those in your pockets all the time?"

"Hey, I don't judge." Lana shrugged. "I carry mud in my pockets all the time for emergencies."

Lori shot a glare at the six-year-old. "So _that's_ why your pockets have mud stains on them. Even when you've been clean!"

Lily stuck her tongue out, aimlessly grasping the collar of Leni's outfit with one hand while grabbing the air of the other. Raising a brow, the infant looked down at her left hand, realizing it was empty. She let out a small gasp, remembering she left her toy on the bench when she saw Lincoln. The baby started making panicking sounds as she looked around.

Leni raised a brow. "What's wrong Lily?"

'Deuce' made some incomprehensible sounds as she pointed towards the window.

Leni looked in the direction of her finger, giving a small smile. "Oh, that's a window silly!"

Lily slapped her gloved hand against her face whilst giving a frustrated groan. "Gab gah ack!" She tried pushing herself out of Leni's hold, to which the blonde got the message and sat her on the ground.

The baby waddled over to the window where the bench sat where she left her toy, only to gasp as it was no longer there. Lily started giving choked sobs as she sat on the ground, which grew into a wail seconds later as a fountain of tears poured from her eyes. Luan came over and scooped her up, a little confused as to why the baby was upset.

"Does she need to be changed again?" Lana asked.

"Dibs not it!" Leni shouted, tapping her nose with a finger.

Luan, squinting an eye, almost regrettably moved her face towards Lily's bottom, giving a faint sniff lest she passed out from the anticipated putrid smell. Her eyes widened when the only smell that greeted her was the scent of a fresh diaper. "She's clean."

"Is she hungry?" Clyde inquired next.

"No." Lori shook her head. "We just ate." Lori looked at the crying infant as Luan tried to soothe her. The blonde narrowed her eyes as she focused on Lily's hands. "Hold up..." She rose from her seat and walked to the window. "Where's her...?" The oldest sibling muttered to herself, pressing her face against the glass and cupped her hands over her eyes to block out the excess luminescent.

'High Card' looked to and fro before spotting the bench they were sitting at moments ago. Her eyes traced around the bench before looking at the floor, only to find dusty carpeting. The teen's stomach sank; it was already bad enough that Lily's toy was missing (after they left it behind), but Lori knew Lily would be in one of those _moods _if they didn't find that exact item. Sure, she could always buy a new one and Lily wouldn't know the difference; at least that's what most would think. Lily could always tell when a toy wasn't the one she wanted to play with; as if she put a permanent claim to it. Just ask anyone in the family about the time she dropped her teddy bear at a rest stop.

Lincoln won a new bear for her that looked much like one she lost, but no. It had to be _HER _stuffed animal, the one she gummed on half the time and fell in love with.

"Great...if we don't find that stupid toy soon, Lily's gonna be crying til next week!" Lori muttered to herself. "And we gotta link up with the others..." She pursed her lips. "Unless..."

The teen whirled around, "Lincoln," Lori started as she walked over. "You and Clyde are still good at this detective stuff, right?"

"I..." Lincoln paused, waves of uncertainty radiating around him. "I-I guess? I'm not so sure if-" He was cut off by Lori putting a hand on his head.

"Don't say you aren't, because both of you," She pointed at the boys, "Were playing detective since you were six. And there's something important you got to do."

Lincoln raised a brow. "But what about-"

"Don't worry about the contest; we're going to drag those judges over to you if we need to (if the others haven't made things worse). But you need to find Lily's toy." Lincoln looked over at his still-crying sibling, somewhat understanding the situation, but still a bit lost. Lori could tell by the look he was giving, and pressed a hand to her forehead as she sighed. "Look, none of us are good at finding things that went missing. Why do you think I always come to you if my phone is missing?"

Lincoln furrowed his brows a little. "You mean _besides _accusing me of taking it?..." Lori frowned in response, to which Lincoln shrugged. "I guess..."

"Or when I needed help finding Mr. Coconuts." Luan added.

"Or my sunglasses." Leni piped up.

"Or my lucky booger!" Lana cheered on.

Lincoln cringed a little. "I'd rather forget that last one...but I see your point."

"So," Clyde stood up. "Clincoln McCloud on the case?"

The middle child smiled a little. "Consider it done!" The two boys fist bumped to seal the deal.

"Hold on," Luan interjected, shaking her arms a little as Lily's cries died down a bit. "You still have your pass, badge, or..." She shook her head. "Whatever it's called? Security won't let you in without it."

Lori put her hands on her hips. "I hope you didn't junk it with your costume..."

"Yeah." Lincoln dug into his pocket, pulling out a convention pass that was attached to a lanyard. "I kept in case you girls might try to drag me back in even if I didn't want to go back...though I was tempted to throw it out..."

Ignoring that first comment, "Perfect." Turning towards the girls, "Alright, let's go see how far they've gotten."

* * *

"Oooooo I can't believe the stroke of luck I've had today!" 'High Roller' chuckled to himself as he dusted off the plastic object in his hands. "An Ace Savvy action figure from the that one-off issue with workable punching and kicking action!" He pressed a button hidden at the top of the figurine's head, which caused the flexed arm of the toy to extend outward. The fat geek then pressed another button on the back of the toy, which made both legs kick outward. "And I saved it!" He took out a plastic bag. "Was worried that baby would try eating it and ruin its market value. Thankfully, she was dumb enough to leave it behind."

As 'High Roller' preserved the toy in its plastic prison, he couldn't help but become giddy at this truly rare find. This particular model was discontinued after it lost its appeal due to newer merchandise coming in; and the limbs could be easily broken and may become a choking hazard for small children. As such, a 'gem' like this was a bit of a _retro _find; if 'High Roller' had to ever explain it to someone.

"What are you so happy about?" A snide voice cut through his thoughts like a knife. "Is there a sale at the food court?"

'High Roller' furrowed his brows before staring at a man dressed in an Ace Savvy uniform. "I could ask why you're hiding in the corner like a shadowy stalker. Not that you would understand the merit of _my _work." He stuffed the bag in his pocket. "And shouldn't you be busy getting more merchandise?"

'Ace' rolled his eyes. "I would, buuuut..." He thumbed to a nearby stand, where a security person and a cop were talking to a disgruntled cashier. "I'd prefer to lay low, at least until someone else causes some shit."

'High Roller' shrugged. "It probably doesn't matter anyway. We've gotten enough merchandise to make a good sale online."

"For _you_ I guess." 'Ace' stated, furrowing his brows a little. "But you know what don't make sense?"

The fat man stared emptily at him. "Your life?..."

'Ace' flipped him the bird. "Piss off." Putting his hand down, "And no. What the hell is this kid after anyway? All these toys, clothes, and whatever costume crap, this brat can buy with mommy's money easily. It ain't like there's something here he _couldn't _buy."

'High Roller' rubbed his chin in thought. "That does make a valid point. And he did say all of this _was_ a distraction from his real prize; not that he ever elaborated on what it was."

'Ace' shrugged. "Well if it's that big ass truck, what's stopping anyone from taking that thing for a joy ride and crushing someone?"

"Aside from getting caught easily and the ridiculous rollover ability of the vehicle. " 'High Roller' pointed out. "And, you can in fact purchase it after negotiating with the owner. It isn't like they don't have more of those stashed somewhere."

"Whatever."

The two paused as another security man walked past, their ears perking up as they heard his radio buzzing.

_"Um, might need some extra hands near the auditorium. Got a group of girls potentially harassing the contest judges." _A feminine voice with a southern accent said.

"Copy that." The man replied before speed walking towards the eastern side of the building. The other security people must've heard it too, seeing as they were taking off in the same direction with the cop not far behind.

'Ace' chuckled. "Guess that solves my problem." He paused when his phone rang, along with 'High Roller's', given that the fat geek padded his pocket. His face soured, knowing that brat must've been trying to set up a group call. "Great..." Shoving a hand into his pocket, "What does that kid want now?..."

Begrudgingly, the two men opened their devices. _"Ah, so everyone's here! I was about to dock you some pay." _The so-called rich kid stated.

"Yeah, you wish you would..." 'Ace' muttered to himself. "What stupid thing are you having us do now?"

The little brat laughed to himself, which soon became a small cough before the kid righted himself. _"My prize is ready. And it should be alone in its trailer right now. Sooooo, Old Lady and Fangs are gonna grab it while the rest of ya make sure no one figures out what you're up to."_

_"Then what was the point of shutting off the cameras?"_ 'Shark' asked.

_"To make things easier. I'll send you the number of the trailer he's in, now shut up and get my new best friend!" _The call ended immediately after those words were said, leaving the rest of the group puzzled. A text came through a second later, showing only a single digit number.

'High Roller' scratched his chin in thought, mulling over the last couple lines that brat said. _Trailer _definitely stuck out, and it was known a few actors from the TV show and upcoming moviewere around to sign autographs; strangely, one of them was an actual cat even. His eyes widened behind those glasses of his as things started to make sense.

"Well," The geek fixed his specs, "I guess there really are some things money _can't_ buy."

'Ace' raised a brow. "What does that mean?"

"What I'm saying is, we better demand a pay increase."

* * *

"For the last time..." Lola spoke with fire in her tone. "Put! Our! Brother! And! His! Friend! In! The! Movie!" She took her crown off, pointing the sharp edges towards the two adults. "Don't make me repeat myself a _fourth _time!"

"Hey hey!" The male judge raised his hands in defense, a bead of sweat forming on the side of his head. "No need to get feisty o-ok?"

The female judge sighed. "Girls, we've told you this already. Even if we wanted to, there's already an Ace and Jack in the movie." Putting her hands on her hips, "And we _definitely_ don't need to be casting anymore sidekicks."

"You're still ignoring the fact our male sibling created our personas, ergo it would be outside of the realm of legality to use us without his permission." Lisa stated flatly.

The female judge gave the toddler an uncaring stare. "I'm pretty sure our lawyers would have something to say about that..."

Lucy instinctively gripped the handle of her spade as she raised it ever so slightly. "Can that threat come from beyond the grave?..."

Luna tipped Lucy's spade down with her index finger. "Look mates," She started in a calm tone, hoping to diffuse the situation. "I know you probably think Lincoln and Clyde ain't worth spending film time on, but you gotta believe us when we say they're the geniuses behind these threads." She pulled at her costume to emphasize her point. "You ain't gonna have a good movie without them in it."

The male judge bit his cheek. "I think we'll take our chances, especially after the messes they've caused."

"Oh come on brah!" Luna yelled, throwing her hands in the air. "You act like they did that stuff on purpose!"

"Maybe not, but _my _point is that they haven't done anything that would make us consider them." The female judge furrowed her brows. "And we might reconsider casting you girls as the winners if you continue pestering us about this."

Luna's eye twitched as an artery became visible on the edge of her forehead. "Why I oughta-!" She reached for her guitar, only to stop when Lynn put her hand out.

"Don't sis, your hands are too weak." 'Strong Suit' cracked her knuckles. "Allow me." She chuckled darkly as she approached the two adults, both of which felt a bit of fear as they started to step back a little.

However, just as she cocked a fist back...

"LYNN!" An authoritative voice rang out, making the brunette recoil a bit.

The group turned to see the rest of the Loud sisters, with Lori giving them a scolding glare with her arms folded disapprovingly. "What did I tell you guys earlier?..."

Lynn pointed an accusatory finger at the judges. "But they wouldn't-!"

"That's not the point Lynn!" Lori interrupted. "Do you want to get all of us kicked out?!" To emphasize her point, 'High Card' pointed towards the few security agents and single cop standing nearby.

Lynn gave a loud, frustrated growl as she put her arm down. Glaring at the two judges, "You guys got lucky..." She stomped away, making sure they were as loud as possible on the carpeted floor.

Lori sighed as she brushed past Lynn. A hand met her forehead as forced out the anger towards her sibling, leaving a more temperamental attitude as she addressed the adults. "Sorry about my sister, but I gonna assume they hadn't convinced you on anything?"

"Well," The male judge folded his arms. "They were a few seconds away from getting security to escort them out."

"Perfect..." Lori muttered. "Look," She clasped her hands together. "You may not want to hear a repeat of this, so I'll get to the point. Lincoln and Clyde (especially our brother) spent _days _of their own time getting all of us prepared to impress you two for this convention. We weren't even interested in coming until we heard about the movie contest being hosted."

"Then why did you attend in the first place?" The male judge asked.

Lori furrowed her brows. "I was _getting _there..." She growled out before adopting a calm tone again. "We didn't think much about our brother's interest in this place until we actually got a chance to enjoy it ourselves, and it's going to _literally _break Lincoln's heart if we get casted into this movie while he doesn't. He created the characters that grabbed your attention, and it's just grossly unfair that Lincoln gets ignored for his creativity."

The female judge folded her arms. "Annnnd where exactly are you going with this?"

'High Card' put a hand on her hip. "Either let our brother and his friend into the movie, with a _good _role mind you, or at least give them a chance to prove themselves." Lori was quick to add, not wanting to get the short end of this deal. "Or you can go and find some other bland people for your dumb movie..."

"Yeah!" The rest of the girls cheered.

"Wait, what?" Lola stuttered out as that last sentence fully dawned on her.

The two judges hummed in thought. It could've been easy to let the girls go and seek out other potential actors for the movie; or just can the whole contest altogether. However, the whole point of featuring random strangers in a cameo was to test audience reactions for potential use of said characters in later films. And after spending the better part of the day looking for anything remotely interesting to use for the film, the two judges realized these girls were the only new material that actually would've been worth spending money for.

"Betsy?" The male judge asked.

Betsy sighed. "Honestly Eric, I've haven't seen a group this persistent in _years_; and the rest of the people here don't have anything we haven't seen before..." She muttered to her companion before addressing Lori. "Alright, we'll give them _one _chance," She raised a finger, "To convince us to cast them in the movie. If they can't, then we'll agree to your terms and disqualify you all from the contest."

"WHAT?!" Lola screeched, making those closest to her wince.

Ignoring this, the older woman continued. "Buuut, if your brother and his friend can 'wow' us with something original or perform an act that's up to par with the source material, we'll see what we can do." Betsy finished.

Eric rolled his sleeve back to check his watch. "You have 40 minutes. By then we'll have the call an end to the contest and announce the winners." Pointing a finger at them, "Don't disappoint us."

With that, the two judges walked off towards the auditorium. Lori, seemingly satisfied with the results, turned towards her sisters; only for Lola to jump onto her chest, clinging to her suit for support.

"Have you lost your _mind_?!" The 'Queen' asked, demanding an immediate answer. "Why on _earth _would you make a bet like that?!"

Lori frowned distastefully at young girl. "Oh get off your high horse…" She pushed the six-year-old off. "Do you think Lincoln would enjoy being the _only _sibling in our family to miss out on a grand opportunity like this? At least this way, it's fair and no one is getting left behind."

"But what if Lincoln _doesn't _convince them?!" Lola glared at the older blonde. "You would've blew a golden opportunity for _all _of us!"

"Lola..." Luan started pinching the bridge between her eyes in irritation. "Is this movie so important that you'd leave your brother to dry?"

"What happened to being all 'He's getting in that movie'? Huh?" Lana stated.

"I...u-uh..." Lola stammered, shrinking under the ever-increasing scrutiny of her sisters. After a moment of staring back at their heated gazes, the pageant winner finally conceded. "S-Sorry...you're right..."

"Besides, it's not like we prop them up to gain a positive review." Lucy stated, staring at her reflection on her spade. "We owe them that much." Looking around for a moment, "Speaking of which, where are they?"

"On a case looking for Lily's toy." Lori explained. "I figured getting onto something they're good at would help their odds."

"Are you certain they'll be able to find Lily's missing entertainment device before they run out of time?" 'Card Counter' asked, taking out a map of the convention floor that contained all the interesting attractions. "This building is approximately 900 by 500 meters, excluding the auditorium."

"Huh." Lynn put her hands on her hips. "You know, it would be amazing if they do manage to find it in here."

"Or the person who took it." Luna added.

"But, do they have enough time to figure it out?" Lucy asked, planting the tip of her spade into the carpet.

Leni tapped her chin, a memory surfacing from the time Lincoln managed to save her job. "Well, the boys found who was stealing clothes at my job, and I think it took them..." She hummed a little. "Less than 10 minutes? How long would this take?"

* * *

"This may be harder than we thought..." Lincoln groaned as he checked around the bench Lori pointed them to. "I mean, _anyone _could've taken it in those few minutes." Finding zilch for the 3rd time, he gave up and sat himself on the seat. "Wish we had one of Lisa's gadgets or, something..."

"Come on Lincoln, we can't give up now!" Clyde stated, eyeing the surface of the bench seat. "Ace and Jack never had to use scanners or anything to find clues." He squinted his eyes, poking his head closer at cushion until he could see the individual threaded lines.

Lincoln rolled his eyes, soon noticing the weird glances people were giving them. He frowned a bit as the thought of being deceived by his sisters crossed his mind. "Or just making fools of ourselves..." He leaned back, placing his hands to his sides on the seat. "This better not be a trick to distract us..."

The two had been combing the spot for clues ever since they split from the girls, only to waste 10 minutes looking at nothing but dust bunnies. As the white-haired boy moved his left hand off the cushion, he felt something come up with it. He glanced down absently, thinking it was just a loose thread from the seat. However, Lincoln raised a brow upon noticing it was instead a piece of thick, burgundy thread.

_"Weird, this doesn't look like it came from Lily's costume...it's too dark..." _He rubbed the thin fabric in his fingers. _"Definitely not the same material..." _Lincoln squinted his eyes, bringing the thread to his nose to dare a whiff. The Loud started to gag as the smell of sweat and lack of proper showering invaded his nasal cavities.

Clyde lifted his head. "You ok?"

"Y-Yeah. And I think I got a lead..." Lincoln gagged, showing Clyde the small thread.

The bespectacled boy raised a brow. "Isn't that from Lily's costume?"

"I thought it was." Lincoln breathed in before coughing, expelling the foul smell from his system. "But I remember using polyester when helping Leni make her booties, gloves, and even her mask."

Clyde rubbed his chin. "What about another Ace Savvy costume?"

"That's a strong possibility due to the color being the same...but this strand feels more like cotton than polyester; at least that's what my costume was made of, and it was bought some years ago..." Lincoln mulled in thought. "Not sure if the type changed, but I remember checking out some new costumes earlier and they felt pretty light."

"So, it's not from Deuce, and it's likely not from an Ace Savvy." Clyde replied, casually eyeing some passing cosplayers. "I doubt it could be a Jack though..." He raised a brow. "Wild Card Willy?"

"Probably..." The Loud responded, but didn't sound so sure about it.

From this distance, Clyde caught a glimpse of High Roller's truck, with some parts matching the color of the red thread Lincoln held. "What about a High Roller?"

Lincoln nodded a little. "That's another theory." He grimaced a little. "Must've been a really heavy guy or something, cause this thing," He pointed at the thread in his fingers. "Has some _serious_ B.O. on it..."

Clyde raised a brow. "Let me see." He spoke as he reached for it.

The Loud pursed his lips. "Just don't pass out..." He reluctantly handed it over to the nerdy kid.

Clyde pinched the end and brought it to his nose, only for his eyes to water before he started having a coughing fit. "Y-Yep!...Definitely been hitting the junk food!..." He whipped out a paper bag and started breathing into it. "But how are we gonna figure out who the real thief is? There's _tons_ of people dressed ad characters in here."

"Well, we could just-" Lincoln paused as he caught site of a camera attached to the corner of the main entrance, angled in such a way that it covered a 50-foot radius that had their position easily covered. He looked up, and saw a couple more cameras attached to the top of the ceiling. The Loud smiled as a new idea came to mind. "Actually, we may not need my sister's help."

Clyde exhaled into the bag before neatly folding it. "How come?"

"Any idea where the security office is?"

The McBride child shrugged. "Wait..." Hesitation was becoming clear on his face as a more pressing matter came to mind. "Wouldn't it be weird for two undressed kids to be snooping around for clues?" Lincoln raised a brow, but didn't immediately answer. "I mean, whoever the perp is, they won't see us coming if we dressed up." Clyde clarified.

_"If they haven't left the place already..."_ Lincoln mulled internally. The Loud bit his cheek as he contemplated on an answer. "I...guess it would be easier to catch our crook by surprise if we hid in plain sight, but I already threw mine away..." He grasped his arm. "And I don't know if I want to put that same old costume on..."

Lincoln felt the weight of the cushion shift as Clyde took a seat next to him. "Lincoln, you didn't have a problem with it before. I mean, aside from not seeing the point in wearing it almost an hour ago; but what was wrong with your old costume?" He looked around at the other Ace Savvies walked around. "It looked the same as everyone else's, minus the towel for the cape."

"You know how costumes are supposed to hide secret identities?" Lincoln replied, which Clyde gave a nod. "I didn't think much on it back then, but my hair sticks out like a sore thumb." He pointed to his snow-capped dome. "I'm...just feeling a little more self-conscious, I guess? I mean, it's easy for you because tons of people wear glasses. But people might think I'm an old man otherwise."

Clyde hummed in thought, giving Lincoln a critical eye as he studied him. "I'm not Leni," He smiled as he put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "But it sounds like you want to update your image."

Lincoln sent a blank stare Clyde's way. "Gee, what made you figure that out?..."

Clyde dropped his smile. "I'm serious dude. Annnd," He pointed across the way towards a particular shop. "I think I see something that could suit what you're looking for."

The Loud raised a brow. "Was that supposed to be a costume joke?"

Clyde shrugged. "I dunno. Was it?"

Lincoln looked across the way, spotting a large booth that had numerous clothing racks scattered in front of it. The vendor was selling various costumes of heroes and villains for all sizes, an easy place to find for those in need of quick change costumes, and a favorite among first time cosplayers.

Pursing his lips a little, Lincoln got off the bench and walked over, gently pushing past a few kids that were still browsing. The Loud checked each and every costume that was for a different hero, silently contemplating if he should just pick a different persona to work with. However, the 11-year-old found himself getting drawn back to the Ace Savvy section, a sense of familiarity filling his mind in spite of his insistence to change things up. After finding a couple costumes that were his size, Lincoln traced his fingers on the fabric, picturing himself in the costume to see if it'd fit him comfortably. As his fingers dragged themselves onto another costume, the Loud raised a brow.

This one looked a tad different from the rest.

The layout was generally the same as any typical Ace Savvy outfit, but it looked more...modern or vigilante-like if Lincoln had a word to describe it. The entire suit was a darker shade of red, including the area below the belt being the same as the rest of the costume instead of appearing as if one were wearing underwear on the outside. With the handkerchief and cuffs, they were burgundy colored instead of black, and were stitched in such a way that gave the suit such a smooth appearance to the point it was probably a one piece; the boots were the same color as the wrist lines, and after a soft poke, Lincoln could tell a thicker type of leather was used instead of the plain, thinner, easy-to-punch-a-hole-into type he wore for years. The belt itself didn't have a large buckle on the front, only having a simple design that went around the entirety of the waistline; as for the cape, it was stitched onto the back like usual, but appeared almost navy blue in color instead of the usual sky blue.

If this wasn't enough to grab Lincoln's attention, the fact the costume also came with a full head mask surely did. It was dark red in color with a bold white line filling its center; it ran from the eye holes in the front all the way to the back. An Ace symbol with the Letter A was plastered on the forehead section, at which Lincoln finally noticed that the handkerchief on the suit lacked.

"Find something you like?" A kind, older voice asked.

Lincoln flinched as he was pulled from his thoughts, wheeling his head towards the adult. "Huh?"

"You were taking a lot of time staring at that costume." The clerk stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"O-Oh. Yeah." Lincoln turned and pulled it off the rack, flipping the package onto its backside to see the full layout pictured there. His eyes found the barcode near the bottom, though he frowned in disgust at the listed price. "$60?..."

"Yeah. You have a keen eye though: that's one of the newer designs that's fresh from the department. However, they haven't caught on yet as people seem to prefer the more traditional, superhero like appearance." The cashier stated, folding his arms. "Pretty sad too. Those threads are raaad."

"Dang it..." Lincoln muttered. "I spent most of my money on other stuff..."

"Bummer." The clerk frowned seeing Lincoln's disheartened face as he put the costume back. He hadn't been able to sell that particular model due to lack of interest, and finally someone came along that _did_ want to purchase it, but was turned off due to insufficient funds. He stroked his chin as Lincoln started browsing at other, less interesting versions of the Ace Savvy suit, though the man could see him still eyeing that one costume in particular. "Tell ya what," He grabbed the costume off the rack. "How about I offer you a one-time discount?" He pointed at the costume he held. "Cause, seriously, I think Ace is more of a vigilante than a superhero." The man chuckled a little. "Gotta have the clothes that fit the part, am I right?"

Lincoln raised a brow. "How much of a discount?"

"50%, so that'd be $30."

Lincoln fished into his pocket and pulled out the cash he still had on hand: a $20 bill, a $5 bill, and several $1 bills. _"Maybe I should ask Mom or Dad if I can get a wallet."_ The Loud mulled to himself. After counting the $1 bills, a bit of relief filled his chest as he had just enough to pay for the suit; though it'd leave him very short on change. "I'll take it!"

"Sweet." The man smiled, walking over to the register. "Just let me ring you up real quick."

* * *

Clyde came out of the restroom, adjusting his eyepatch to a comfortable spot on his face. "Come on...almost there..." He grunted, moving the strap through his curly hair.

As much as he was a fan of One-Eyed Jack, he grew to hate having to wear an eyepatch as part of the getup. Not only did it mess with his depth perception, it was a mess to get the patch sitting _juuuuust _right on his massive weave. The boy's eyes watered a little as he felt the strap tug on several follicles, forcing him to quickly lift it before setting it down.

"Ah..." Clyde sighed in relief. Turning towards the bathroom entrance, "You done yet Lincoln?"

"Yeah! Just getting...this...mask to fit right." The Loud grunted as he stepped out of the restroom, already dawning his new costume but was busy fiddling with the mask. Lincoln tugged at the top as he adjusted his hair underneath the surface, then tugged at the front so the fabric wouldn't hinder his eyesight. "Ok, I think I'm good."

"Soooo, how does it feel?" Clyde asked with much enthusiasm.

Lincoln pulled at the side of his outfit. "A little snug," He twisted his body to look at the back. "But comfy. Feels more flexible than my old suit."

"It looks _WAY_ better than your old suit actually." Clyde complimented as he looked the Loud over. He frowned upon looking at his own costume. "Maybe I should've gotten a new look too."

Lincoln adjusted his collar until it felt more comfortable. "There's no time Clyde. We gotta figure out who the thief is before the trail goes cold; and it was your idea for me to get a new suit, so..."

"Yeah, but..." Clyde was about to refute a point, but the Loud was already walking away. He pouted his lips in irritation. "Never mind..."

Figuring that the security office wouldn't be anywhere on the floor, the two boys stuck towards the edges of the building, finding numerous bathrooms and other technical equipment rooms, but not the one room they sought. However, as they approached the northwest corner of the convention center, luck shined on them as a sign with the word 'Security' hung above a single door.

Lincoln twisted the knob, a little surprised it wasn't locked. "Huh. It's open."

"You think the security guard might be involved too?" Clyde asked as they stepped into what appeared to be a break room.

Lincoln raised a finger as he puffed his chest out. "Expect the unexpected!"

"What are you kids doing here?" A feminine voice called out, making Lincoln nearly jump out of his suit as he gave a sharp yelp.

The duo looked towards a middle-aged woman dressed in a typical security uniform, staring at them with disinterest while sipping from a coffee cup. Wanting to regain the vigor he momentarily lost, Lincoln straightened himself out before addressing the adult. "We'd like to see a video of what occurred 20 minutes ago near the front door."

"Any particular reason why?" The woman asked, putting a hand on her hip.

"We're on a _VERY_ important case to find a missing toy for a baby." Clyde added, putting on an air of professionalism. "And we have a lead on our culprit, buuuut we need to get a physical ID on our suspects. "

The security officer rolled her eyes. "If you lost a toy, why don't you just go buy another one? I doubt a baby would tell the difference."

Lincoln furrowed his brows a bit. "I cannot do that ma'am. I made a promise to my sister to find it, and I _can't_ let her down!" He folded his arms. "Plus, she can tell when it's not the one she picked out."

"Are you really going to force us to let a _baby_ down?" 'Jack' asked, bringing his hands to his cheeks in feigned shock. "I thought it was your duty to uphold the law!"

"No." The woman paused to take another sip. "I just watch the monitors."

Lincoln gave a glare of disapproval. "Well, _we_ have a code of honor to follow. And I won't rest until justice is dealt to the person who took my sister's prized possession." He shook his fist for added effect.

The woman sighed. "Fiiiiine. If it'll get you out of my hair, you can check the screen to see if you find anything." She turned and shuffled down the hall past the break room towards an open door, with 'Ace' and 'Jack' not far behind.

The moment they got to the door, the boys stared in awe the numerous monitors that lit up the dark room. All of them were arranged in a curve along the wall, with the shadow of the security officer sitting in a rolling chair at the desk in front of them.

Clyde leaned in towards Lincoln's ear. "This looks just like mission control from that space monster movie."

"Yeah..." Lincoln nodded as he whispered back, his eyes shifting from all the monitors. "I think I know why she's mad. I mean, how can one person watch all these screens? I don't even know where to start!"

"Hmmm..." Clyde squinted his eyes, strolling up to the monitors and looked at each one carefully.

There appeared to be a small box on the upper right side that listed the location of each camera, which Clyde was grateful for as it gave him something to work with. Starting from the left, he looked at each column of monitors to find the cameras located near the main entrance. He blinked after a minute, a dull sting being felt in his eyes from looking at a screen for too long.

"Find anything?" Lincoln asked, checking his own column of monitors.

"Not...quite-wait." Clyde spoke as he focused on a small group of monitors near the bottom. He recognized the set of double doors as the main entrance, especially when he saw the desk that gave people their event lanyards. Just below that monitor, he saw one that showed the area where the bench was located. "There!" 'Jack' pointed at the screen. "Monitor, uh..." He squinted as he quickly read the numbers. "638!"

Lincoln raised a brow as he looked to where Clyde was pointing at, which soon formed into delight. "Bingo! Let's rewind that camera!"

The security officer pushed her chair from the desk towards a computer monitor, typing in the camera number with one hand. The feed was brought up seconds later, to which Lincoln kindly took the mouse and clicked back to nearly a half hour ago. Knowing this might take a while, the Loud sped up the video by times 2, watching intently for anyone that passed by the bench. Several people had sat down, most of them being families dressed up for the con. Several Aces and Jacks had passed by the camera, including a few young kids dressed as various characters; but Lincoln had yet to see anyone that would've matched the description of an obese person dressed as the villainous High Roller.

Actually, now that he thought about it, Lincoln hadn't seen his sisters in the video feed either, nor the toy.

Sticking his tongue out, the Loud rewound the feed to about an hour ago, figuring he could start from there. Speeding up the video a little, Lincoln waited patiently for his sisters to appear, as that would indicate the part where he needed to pay very close attention to the feed. But for some reason, he saw that same small family again and again, doing the same actions before getting up and leaving.

"Is this thing stuck on repeat, or...?" Lincoln muttered to himself.

"Did you find the girls yet?" Clyde asked.

"No. I went back to an hour ago and they still haven't appeared when they should've." Lincoln furrowed his brows as the feed seemed to repeat itself for the 4th time. "I think it's broken or something."

Clyde raised a brow before looking at the rest of the monitors. Looking towards the center of the group, he spotted one feed that generated interest. "Well, I see Lynn playing the strongman game again."

Lincoln went wide-eyed. "What?" He whipped his head towards his friend. "That game's been broken since this morning."

"Well, I guess they fixed it." Clyde pointed toward the screen, making Lincoln walk over so he could get a better look.

Indeed, it showed Lynn proving her strength at the strongman game, with another camera catching the moment the bell puncher broke the bell off its mount and shot into the ceiling.

"Uh, Clyde?" Lincoln spoke, tapping his eye-patched companion on the shoulder. He pointed at the screen that showed Lynn striking the stand with the hammer; but just off to the left, one could see Lincoln and Clyde watching her in amazement.

Clyde had his mouth agape slightly. "But, if we're in here...then who's that?!"

Lincoln slapped a hand on his forehead. "Clyde, it means that the feed is only showing what happened _hours_ ago!" He looked at the rest of the monitors, which were showing the same symptoms from the personal feed Lincoln had watched. The Loud was quick to spot a couple of his other sisters doing activities on camera, such as Lori buying Lily the toy she lost; that served as a further indication that all of the monitors were showing dated information. "Which means something really is wrong with all the cameras!"

"Please." The security officer put her cup down. "_All_ of the cameras can't be broken like that." She wheeled herself over to the computer again, typing something the boys couldn't quite make out. The feed Lincoln was checking was soon replaced with a chart that appeared to show the data for each camera in the building. "Sure, some may go out from time to time, but-" She paused as she looked at the list of the times shown from the current feed being displayed. "What the hell?..." She checked her watch.

'Ace' and 'Jack' stood there in confusion before the officer spoke again. "Ooookay, apparently something went wrong around 11 this morning. No wonder I didn't see anything out of the ordinary when the others started talking about merchandise going missing..." She said to no one in particular.

Lincoln glanced at Clyde. "Merchandise?"

"Someone's been robbing the booths?" Clyde added.

"But, I should be able to fix that." The officer did a few keystrokes, after which the boys saw a prompt appear on the screen. A single click of the mouse was heard before the room went dark as the screens blacked out.

'Jack' started quaking in his boots. "W-What's going on?"

"Relax kid. It's just a reboot." The woman stated, typing what was assumed to be another command before the room started to illuminate once more as camera feeds started booting back up one by one.

The boys watched as the feed started to show real time footage of the convention floor. A couple cameras had another security officer or two talking with vendors that had a noticeable amount of merchandise missing, with another showing one officer talking to an actual cop. Lincoln looked to the right a little and spotted all of his sisters in one screen, with Lola strangely grappling Lori's suit. Lincoln could only assume she was mad about something judging by the look on her face, and it wasn't a surprise that Lori promptly shoved her off. A few cameras to the left would show the contest judges walking away from where the girls stood.

"Guess they managed to convince them." Lincoln muttered to himself. "I think..." He felt a tapping on his shoulder, making him look at Clyde.

"Uh, you are seeing this?" Clyde pointed at a couple monitors to the far right, which were connected to cameras located outside the rear section of the building. In one monitor, there was an Ace, Card Shark, Wild Card Willy, and High Roller (an obese one at that) standing outside a trailer as if they were keeping watch. Well, two of them were keeping watch while the other two were peering inside the trailer's window; they were knocked off balance as the temporary building shook, almost as if something heavy had been knocked over on the inside.

Judging from their physique, Lincoln assumed they must've been a few years older than his oldest sister.

The Loud saw a placard on the door, which was somewhat hard to read due to the angle of the camera. After a moment of studying it, Lincoln was able to make out a name. A sinking feeling started to fill his stomach, for there was something terribly off about the scene the two were watching unfold.

"Um...who's trailer is that?" Clyde asked, feeling a similar emotion to what Lincoln felt.

Lincoln's reply sent a chill up "Jack's" spine. "The Kitty..."

**A/N: I wanted to get this out before the year turned over, but was too busy being sick to care. Also, ****I was planning on having the second act be the final one, but i realized it'd end up being 20k words long and might be a slight turn off for some. So, the next act will be the last; and it will be much more action-packed than what you've read so far.**

**You may be asking why Lincoln got a costume upgrade. Well, I asked Underrated Hero about using his design from his Marvel-esque story, and he agreed. Personally, I like his design better than the one in the show. It feels like the show tried to make Ace Savvy something akin to superman, but someone had to compromise and went for more Batman type skills while still looking like superman. I don't think it worked out well in the grand scheme of things, especially if Ace's fights seen so far (from Lincoln's perspective) tend to involve "let's fight for 30 seconds before i have to call the cavalry."**


	3. Crime Never Pays Pt 3

**A/N: After a much needed confidence boost from the girls, and a wardrobe change at Clyde's behest, Lincoln was ready to solve the case of the missing toy. But in doing so, they uncovered a more sinister plot at hand. Can the boys gather the courage to be real heroes? Will the girls put their personas to good use? Will the bad guy get a win?**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from the Loud House.**

Lincoln and Clyde could only stare in confusion at the camera monitoring the outside of Kitty's trailer as 4 adult cosplayers stood about. They could've been security dressed for the event, but that didn't make sense to Lincoln. It was one thing for the convention security themselves to be wearing their typical uniform, and since Kitty is supposed to be a bad guy, there should be a corral of bad guys to keep appearances.

_"So why would there be an Ace working with Kitty?..."_ Lincoln mulled to himself, rubbing his chin in thought. _"And doesn't he have a trainer?..." _A sinking feeling in his stomach was telling him that there was more to this story than what the boys were seeing.

The Loud was proven right when seconds later, "I got four individuals hanging around Kitty's trailer. Can someone head back there and tell 'em Kitty isn't doing autographs for the rest of the day?" The security woman spoke into a small handheld radio.

_"Uh, kinda busy at the moment with this vendor." _A male voice replied. _"Think you can check it out Bess?"_

The aforementioned 'Bess' sent a small glare towards one of the monitors, eyeing one where a guard was NOT talking to a vendor, but busy eating a hamburger. Pressing the talk button on the radio, "Issac, get your fat ass out of the chair and head towards the back!" She got up from her seat, nearly stomping towards the exit. "Gotta do everything myself, I swear to GOD..."

The two 11 year olds were momentarily shocked to hear an adult openly swear in front of them before looking back at the screens. "Um...should we do something?" Lincoln asked, a little unsure of what to do next.

"I think it'd be better to let the local authorities handle it. I mean, _all_ of them can't be busy or lazy, right?" Clyde responded with an optimistic tone.

Lincoln didn't share his friend's sentiment however. "Still, something's fishy here..." He fidgeted a little as the unsettled feeling in his gut grew stronger. He grasped his arm in an attempt to calm his nerves. "Why would someone go through the trouble of hacking the security cameras? That's something Lisa could do, but I doubt she (in her words) would waste precious brainpower on something so trivial."

"Mmmm..." Clyde rubbed his chin. "Not to mention all the merchandise missing. Though it _could _just be one selfish fan or two hoping to sell it online for a profit."

"Maybe." Lincoln eyed the rear building monitors again, now raising a brow as Card Shark and Wild Card Willy stepped back from the window of the trailer, only seconds before the door opened. Two girls dressed as Old Maid and Card Countess stepped out, looking a little ragged with parts of their costumes torn and some hair thrown askew. Between them they carried a shaking pet kennel that, judging by the size, was meant for puppies or-

"A cat!" Lincoln whispered. He pointed at the screen before shouting, "THEY'RE CATNAPPING THE KITTY!"

Clyde went wide-eyed. "You don't think any of _them _would be capable of thinking this up, do you?..."

"I doubt it, and this is looking just like Ace Savvy: The Grand Prize!" The Loud curled his hands into fists. "Only instead of a jewel, the target is Kitty!"

Clyde opened his mouth, only to partially shut it in hesitation. "Was that between Issue 61 and 72, or after?"

Lincoln rolled his eyes. "Clyde focus! We gotta tell security before they can get away!" Running over to the radio, Lincoln grabbed the receiver and pressed the speaker button. "Can anyone hear me?"

_"Kid?"_ Bess answered. _"What are you doing on the-"_

"That's not important right now. Those guys near The Kitty's trailer are trying to steal the-" The line went dead as the boys were suddenly enveloped in blackness.

"AHHH! I'M BLIND!" Clyde shouted, soon covering his eyes as two dim lights shined into the room. Looking up, the McBride child found the source came from an emergency light mounted on the wall. "Oh." He chuckled a little. "The power just went out."

"Dang it. I know it's supposed to be clear today, so someone must've cut it." Lincoln put the receiver back in the table. "I don't even know if they got my message..."

"So..." Clyde twiddled his fingers nervously. "What do we do now?"

Lincoln pursed his lips. A sense of justice still flowed through him, otherwise he wouldn't have attempted to warn security of what was happening. And it didn't feel right to be a bystander and just let a bunch of crooks kidnap a cat of all things. Lincoln was aware that actors tend to be much different from whatever roles they play, and he didn't doubt that poor kitten was likely as passive as Charles was on a lazy Sunday.

He needed to decide quickly though; every second that passed as another moment the villains were evading police and security.

_"What would Ace do?..." _The Loud thought to himself. It was a bit of a dumb question since he very well knew the answer; the hard part rested on whether Lincoln had the courage to act on it. This wasn't like the stuff they read in comic books, this was real life, which had its own set of dangers.

_"But...isn't Ace Savvy _kinda _based on real life?" _Lincoln questioned himself as he gazed at the darkened ceiling. _"I did figure out who might've taken Lily's toy, then accidentally stumbled onto this..." _The screams of panicking cosplayers made itself known to the boys, along with shouts from security or police who attempted to calm them down. With that in mind, Lincoln became wide-eyed as a haunting realization came to him. _"Oh no...my sisters are still out there!" _He brought his hands to his sides as determination became clear in his eyes. _"I can't let anything happen to them...not after everything they risked for me..."_

"You alright Lincoln?" Clyde asked. "You looked like you were spacing out."

Lincoln gave a sigh. "I hate to say it, but we gotta stop those thieves." Folding his arms, "I don't think the police will be able to catch them, especially with the lights out." Bitterness crept into Lincoln's tone as he said, "But I'm not sure if we can do this alone..."

"Um, you sure about this Lincoln? I mean, I'd support your decision, but-"

"Clyde," Lincoln cut him off. "What would you do if Cleopawtra or Nepurrtiti were stolen?"

Clyde shut his mouth at the mention of his two bundles of joy. Even if his dads had the police search for them, the boy knew for a fact he wouldn't rest until he knew they were safe. Giving a sigh, the McBride puffed out his chest before giving a salute. "One Eyed Jack is on the case! Though," He dropped his salute. "It's still two against 6; not very good odds." Turning away a little, "Not to mention all of them are adults..."

"True." Lincoln rubbed his chin. He thought over his sisters' alter egos, which also brought up the time they risked getting in trouble just to make sure his comic was submitted on time for that contest. Heck, Lucy didn't even mind the grounding she received due to the commotion she caused in the gym. "However," The Loud smiled. "Maybe we won't have to. Does your phone still work?"

"Yeah?" Clyde dug it out of his pocket. "Why?"

Lincoln grabbed it, immediately dialing a number. "I'm bringing in the Full House!"

* * *

Out on the floor, many patrons were either confused or panic-stricken as the lights to the convention center were suddenly cut off, leaving the only abundant light source to be the ambient light flooding in through the glass windows at the front. Even the emergency lights being activated did little to calm the situation as police and security guards started urging everyone to exit through the front doors.

In the midst of all this, Lori was trying to keep her sisters calm (the youngest ones and Leni mostly) as they were being herded towards the exit with the crowd. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8...wait, where's-" 'High Card' stopped upon noticing Lucy holding the hands of the twins so they wouldn't be accidentally separated. "Oh, there's Lucy." She muttered to herself.

"Anyone have a clue where Lincoln is?!" Luan shouted over the noise.

"Didn't see him anywhere before the lights cut out." Luna answered.

"Um, can somebody take Lily?! She's kinda being a handful! Ouch!" Leni practically begged as Lily continued crying, tugging hard on the older blonde's hair.

"Yeah yeah, give her here." 'Night Club' pulled the distressed infant away from the fashionista, rubbing her back in an attempt to soothe her.

"Some convention this turned out to be." Lucy stated, speaking a little louder than normal so she could be heard. "It begs the question if we'll be coming back next year."

Lola tugged on the outfit of her neck a little. "Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?"

"Close contact with large groups will automatically increase your outside temperature." Lisa explained as she rode on Lynn's back. "Given how everyone is currently expressing uncertainty about our current predicament. But we should expect a nice breeze upon reaching the outdoors."

Lori glanced back at her sisters, if only to make sure they were staying together. Getting them outside would be easy, but her biggest concern lied with her brother. She was confident he and Clyde would make it out on their own, but her sisterly instincts were telling her to go out and make sure that was the case. Calling him wasn't an option considering his phone issue.

Lincoln may have felt better after the little talk they had, but Lori knew he was good at hiding his emotions; even more so than Lucy. Leaving him to find Lily's toy by himself while the rest of them worked stuff out with the judges probably put him on edge should they go back on their word; they didn't have the best track record, she would admit, but Lori wanted to show that he could rely on his sisters for help when he really needed it. Looking out for his wellbeing would be the first step.

The eldest child had her train of thought wrecked when she felt a buzzing sensation in her pocket. She whipped her phone out to gaze at the screen, hesitation on her face as she read the number before recognizing who it was. Needless to say, Clyde used to leave annoyingly sweet texts on her phone that she had to delete.

Sliding the green button on the screen, "Clyde? Where are you-"

_"Lori? Can you hear me?"_

Lori went wide-eyed for a second. "Lincoln?!" She plugged her other ear with a finger to drown out the background noise. "Where are you?!"

_"In the security office, but that's not important. Me and Clyde ended up uncovering a crime involving a group of villains stealing The Kitty! I don't think the police will get them in time, but we have a chance to catch them before they get away!" _Lincoln spoke quickly.

Lori formed a small scowl. "Lincoln, now isn't the time for crime solving, ok?"

_"I'm being serious!" _Lincoln yelled, possibly a little louder than he meant to as Lori pulled the phone away from her ear for a second. She instinctively had the mind the reprimand him for the outburst, but held her tongue. _"All of the cameras were hacked when we tried to figure out who took Lily's toy, then we found a bunch of guys at Kitty's trailer, then the power got cut when I tried telling the guards. It's all connected somehow!"_

Lori pursed her lips. It sounded kinda reasonable, with all things considered, but Lincoln could've been-

_"Please Lori?..." _'High Card' felt her heart clench as her brother's begging voice reached her ears. _"I-I know it seems like a crazy story I'm making up...but we _really _need your help, a-and I can't do this without you guys..."_

Lori was a little torn on what to do. The logical side of her wanted to calmly deny whatever it was Lincoln had claimed was going on. And yet...

_"He sounded so sincere..." _Lori mulled internally. _"He NEEDS me...us...for help. If I say no, he'll likely think I literally AM the worst sister ever..." _'High Card' shook her head, gripping her phone tight as a firm goal cemented itself into her mind. _"I already let him down once today...all of us did..." _Her lips became a thin line. _"We're not doing it a second time." _

Taking her hand off her ear, Lori calmed her brother's nerves with one, simple message. "Where do you need us?"

* * *

The back door of the convention center slammed open with a loud bang before being shut in the same fashion. 'Card Shark' immediately pulled the lock pins on the upper side of the door, right as intense banging was heard on the other side of the metal frame.

"Open this door right now you pricks!" Came Bess' muffled yell.

"Better luck next time Bessy!" 'Ace' taunted for a second, then noticed the darkness surrounding them. "Why is it dark in here?"

"More importantly, WHO THE HELL SOLD US OUT?!" 'Wild Card Willy' screeched, flailing his hands in the air. "This was supposed to be a covert mission!"

"Either way," 'Countess' started. "This could work to our advantage, since no one can see us."

"Riiiight." 'Old Maid' rolled her eyes. "But how do you expect us to get out here when the cops know what happened?" She grunted a little as the pet kennel suddenly shifted its weight. "You think they'll just let us walk out of here with an angry cat?"

Everyone stopped talking upon seeing a flashlight panning through the row of booths, prompting them to move before two security guards arrived.

As they moved a safe distance away, all of their phones buzzed with a text notification popping up. 'Ace' opened his, which revealed a misspelt and possibly angry text from their 'benefactor'. Judging by the expressions everyone else gave, it must've been the same.

_'My quote-unquote friend told me they lost control of the cameras, and that you were probably spotted getting my new playmat bye now. So, they shut off power too the building 2 give you morons a chance to escape. SO NOTHIN CHANGED BY MY WATCH! I'm on my way to collect, and if you manage to make it outside with my prize, I'll DOUBLE what I said I'd pay you._

_Get caught, then SUCKS TO BE YOU LOOOOL.'_

Most of the group expressed some form of rage at the child's message, but now there was a fork in the road as far as what to do; and if it would be worth it. 'High Roller' pocketed his phone and noticed the back of the massive crowd being escorted out not too far away from their position. Word of their theft must've been spreading quickly to whatever law enforcement happened to be within the building, as a few more peeled away from the crowd to search the rest of the floor.

"Hmmm..." The man rubbed his chin. "If we can make it to the crowds and get in the midst of it, we might be able to slip out of here while they're busy searching the back of the building."

"Screw that, I'm ready to call a quits to this farce." 'Ace' stated, folding his arms.

"So if you bail, can I have your share then?" 'Willy' asked in a snarky tone.

'Shark' huffed a little. "How do we know you won't be a snitch and tell the cops on us?"

"Cause I could give less of a shit about any of you shits, and I ain't spending another year in prison." 'Ace' spoke heatedly at the shark-dressed man. "_And_ that stupid brat ain't putting out enough dough to make it worth all this crap."

'Countess' blew a tuff of hair out of her vision. "Pussy out if you want, but _I _need that cash for college."

"Sides," 'Maid' gave a snide grin. "You're knee deep in this shit just as much as we are." An evil gleam flashed in her eyes. "And don't think none of us won't bring you down if it means getting a lighter sentence."

Before 'Ace' could give the young woman a piece of his mind, the group was suddenly blinded by a series of bright lights.

"That won't be necessary, because _all _of you are going down!" A young voice called out.

The adults were perplexed, expecting security or police officer to have caught them. Instead, when the lights moved away and their vision adjusted to the darkness, they practically gawked as it turned out to be two boys dressed as Ace Savvy and One Eyed Jack, along with a bunch of girls dressed as characters they didn't recognize. All of them looked ready to tussle, much to the amusement or annoyance of the adults.

"Cute. A bunch of brats in costumes..." 'Shark' muttered.

"Is that a _baby_?" 'Maid asked aloud.

"Wow bro." Luna started, unable to deny her amazement. "You weren't kiddin' about a bunch of blokes trying to catnap a kitten."

Lincoln didn't respond as he kept his gaze on the villains. "Drop the Kitty and no one gets hurt!" He spoke with authority, eyeing the kennel for a second.

"We have you surrounded!" Leni added, taking a moment to gaze around absently before refocusing her glare at the adults. "At least from this side!"

'Ace' snorted. "Oh give me a break. What's a bunch of brats like you going to do?"

"Turn you in to the proper authorities is what we'll do!" Clyde proclaimed, though the shaking in his knees told a different story.

Lynn grinned as she cracked her knuckles. "Give up now and it'll save you a beating!"

"You have no idea what we're capable of. It would be better for all of us if surrender peacefully." Lucy added.

'Shark' rolled his eyes. "I fear my grandmother more than two boys whose balls hadn't dropped yet," He gestured to Lincoln and Clyde, who went wide-eyed. The older sisters glared daggers at the man, but he paid no mind. "And a bunch of girls dressed as...I don't know." He shrugged. "What are you exactly? Some DC hero ripoffs?"

Luna let a growl escape her as her fingers grazed the edges of her guitar. "Sounds like you need your mouth washed dude..."

"Um..." Lana scratched the side of her head with her wrench as she raised a brow. "What does 'balls dropped' mean?"

Lola rolled her eyes. "Ignore it. The boys didn't carry any of Lynn's stuff in here."

This made Lynn raise a brow while Lincoln, Lori, Clyde, and Luan mentally sighed. As the athlete was about to speak, Lisa put a hand on her leg. "Don't correct her."

"I'm not having this talk right now..." 'High Card' muttered.

"Hey! Whose over there?" A completely new voice cut into the standoff between the two groups.

Towards the right, a flashlight beam was poking around in the darkness. To everyone, it meant justice was only a stone's throw away; and the losing side didn't want to get brought down by a bunch of kids who hadn't been taught to not stick their noses in other people's business. 'Old Maid' uttered a swear as she looked at the nearby tables. Her eyes landed on some partially opened boxes, figuring it'd do the job given its size. She elbowed 'Countess', who looked annoyed for a second before she spotted what her colleague was looking at.

Before the Full House could react, two medium-sized boxes were chucked at them. The kids yelped as the contents, unsold comics and packaged toys, spilled out midflight. Most of them instinctively shielded their faces while some of of the older sisters shielded the youngest ones with their bodies.

Lynn growled as she uncovered her face "Cheap move ya-" 'Strong Suit' cut herself off when upon seeing that the villains were no longer in front of them.

"They're gone!" Lana squealed.

"Thanks for the observation captain obvious." The princess twin bemoaned.

"Well then," Lori took an unfurled comic issue off her head. "Looks like they want to do this the hard way." She spoke darkly as she crumpled the paper book in her hands. Looking at her sole brother, "What's the plan Lincoln?"

Lincoln rubbed his forehead where a toy box bounced off. "I was hoping they wouldn't put up a fight, but letting them be full of themselves can work in our favor." Turning to the group, "They likely would have split up to avoid getting caught all at once, and any of them could have Kitty with them." Lincoln rubbed his chin as his eyes narrowed a little. "And since there's six of them, we'll split into groups of two to take out each villain."

'Ace' pointed at Lori and Leni. "You guys grab High Roller. I think he might try to use his infamous truck since it's parked nearby, so you guys would have a better chance at defeating him even if he does reach it."

'High Card' gave a light chuckle. "Either that or the lack of exercise makes him faint."

Lincoln pointed to Lynn and Luan. "You girls will get Wild Card Willy. Now, he was given that name because of how unpredictable he is." The Loud smiled. "But I'm sure he won't be a problem for you guys."

Lynn cracked her fingers. "Consider it done."

"He's gonna go bananas figuring out an escape plan." Luan chuckled.

"Lana, Luna." Lincoln addressed them. "You guys will go after Card Shark." He tapped his chin. "I somewhat doubt he'd try to use the dunk pool unless it was fixed, but your plumbing and music skills should make that pretty easy to counter." The two girls gave a thumbs up before fist-bumping each other.

Lincoln looked towards Lucy, who put up a hand. "Let me guess: you want me to find Card Countess."

Lincoln nodded, giving a small shrug ."I figured you'd want to since you know a lot about vampires."

The little goth flashed one of her rare smiles. "I'd love to." A more, familiar deep frown replaced that smile not a moment later. "If anything, it will give me an opportunity to stop that witch from continuing to make a mockery of the afterlife."

Lincoln chuckled nervously. "Riiight. Just remember to take Lisa with you."

"May I ask why, elder brother?" The little genius folded her arms.

"Something about that lady's attitude..." Lincoln shivered as a chill went up his spine. "She may not look like she cares, but that might be a tactic to lower your guard." He smiled a little. "But I doubt anything can be as scary or as smart as you two."

"Wait a second." Lola narrowed her eyes as she realized Lincoln hadn't once called her name. "What am I supposed to do?!"

"Oh, sorry." 'Ace' scratched the back of his head. "You and Lily should be able to handle the Old Maid."

'Queen of Diamonds' formed a deep frown. "Oh sure. Everyone else gets all the _cool _bad guys to take care of, while I get the snobby lady in a grey wig."

"Sounds like it's up your alley Lola." Lana stated with a smug grin as she gently elbowed her sister in a joking manner.

The younger twin glared at her roommate. "Don't you start..."

"If anything, you should literally have the easiest time Lola." Lori put a hand on her hip. "I could take one look at that girl and tell she's all bark and no bite." A wry grin formed on her face. "Normally, I'd be against Lily fighting a bad guy, but she hasn't gone in her diaper yet; so count that as extra ammo."

Lola grumbled something no one could reiterate before saying, "I guess..." She picked up her infant sister, who poked her at the edge of her nose. Looking back at Lincoln, "So what about you, Mr. Fearless Leader?..."

Pointing at himself, "Me and Clyde will take on that other Ace Savvy. He needs to learn what bring a real hero is all about."

"Yeah!" Clyde chimed in, putting an arm around Lincoln's shoulder. "We're gonna put that faker in his place."

"So, everyone know the plan?" Lincoln asked, to which everyone nodded. "Then without further ado," He whipped out a couple of cards before striking a dramatic pose. "It's time to deal out some justice!"

Unfortunately, Lincoln's moment was interrupted when Lola shoved a walkie-talkie into his chest as the group began to split into different directions. "Just make sure you call for help if you need it. Costumes or not, these are _real _criminals, ok?" Lori stated in a tone to everyone that almost reminded them of Rita.

Words of approval floated about for a few seconds before each pair split into the darkness. Lincoln understood Lori's concern, but he couldn't help the sigh that left him. "Moment. Ruined..."

* * *

'Willy' fidgeted a little as he ran as silently as he could towards the thinning crowd near the main entrance. Every few seconds, he'd glance backwards to make sure he wasn't being followed. Now, he had little reason to believe a bunch of kids could be a threat; aside from being the little tattletales they were. Cops on the other hand...

He wasn't going back to jail...

Whether it was some unspoken agreement or in the heat of the moment, everyone split into whatever direction they could. He didn't even know who had that demon feline; all he was concerned with was that his own hands were empty. And he probably wasn't going to get any real money out of this chaos.

"Stupid kid and his stupid obsession with cats. Why couldn't it have been a dog?! Now that's a REAL man's best friend." The man pulled his bandana off to scratch his beard. "Why did I sign up for this shit again?..."

"You can ask the cops when we turn you over to 'em." A gruff, feminine voice cut off his monologing. 'Willy' stood up straight for a moment before getting knocked off his feet by a heavy object smashing into his back.

"ACK! What the hell?!" 'Willy' started getting up when someone stepped on his back, pushing him down to the floor. Turning his head, he got a good look at his assailants: two girls, one wearing some kind of workout suit and another dressed as a jester of sorts. "Oh." He rolled his eyes. "You brats again?"

"You know, for someone whose supposed to be unpredictable, you made this _WAY_ too easy." Lynn boasted, putting an arm on her knee as she pressed a little more weight onto the bandit's back.

"Guess the cowboy schtick doesn't help much." Luan chuckled. "Now then," The comedian adopted a serious tone. "Ehere's the cat?"

"The hell should I know?! Do you _see _a cat crate anywhere?!" 'Willy' yelled angrily.

Lynn frowned at his attitude, taking a moment to stomp on the man's back. She gave a small grin as he let out a pained grunt. "Whose to say you could've hid it somewhere?" She started cracking the knuckles of her right hand. "Now, don't make us ask a third time: where is the Kitty?..."

'Willy' growled in frustration. None of the girls would probably believe him even if he told the truth, but it seemed like the best approach as Lynn looked ready to clean his clock if he didn't say _something._ "Look, if I knew, I'd tell you. But I don't, so I can't. One of the others probably got him or whatever..."

"A likely story." Luan rubbed her chin. "But this whole operation you've been running stinks! Why go through all this trouble, just to steal a _cat_?"

"How much would you do for 10 Grand?..." The man spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

Lynn's eyes went wide. "10 Grand?"

Luan looked at her partner. Seeing the girl going into deep thought over this made her scowl. "Ly-I mean, Strong Suit, focus!" The prankster sighed internally for the near save. "It doesn't matter how much this guy was getting paid, he's still a villain!"

"What?!" Lynn glared at her sister. "How can you _NOT_ expect someone to take that much money?" She folded her arms. "Besides, I wasn't thinking about it like _that_."

Luan rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter _how_ you were thinking of it. Heroes do good things without expecting anything in return; that's like, the main hero code or something."

'Willy' shook his head. "You're both just kids wearing costumes."

Both Louds glared at him. "Who asked you?!" They yelled in unison before looking back at each other.

"And speaking of which, it's not like heroes _won't_ take anything if it's offered to them." Lynn pointed out. "How many times has Ace been given stuff for all the deeds he's done?"

Luan dispelled a heated breath through her nose. "Plenty I bet, but point is, this should be the last thing on your mind." She looked off into the distance to see the fading crowd. "Let's get this guy to the cops and go help the others."

The bandit's pupils shrank. He had already been arrested once for DUI, and assault, and public indecency; but if the cops find out he was in on this little scheme, they'd could very well give him life in prison. Unconsciously, he shifted his weight a little, noting how easily he could move; while 'Strong Suit' was busy talking with her partner, she unknowingly took some pressure off his back.

"Can I say something here?" 'Willy' started.

Lynn whipped her head towards the villain. "What?"

In one swift motion, 'Willy' turned and grabbed Lynn's leg, throwing it off him. The athlete gave a yelp as she lost her balance and fell to the floor. Getting up to run, "You both suck as heroes!" He shouted as he put some distance between himself and the duo.

Luan had her mouth agape as she watched the 'Willy' escape, only to close it a second later to glare at her sister. Grabbing her arm, the comedian yanked up her younger sister before bolting after the cowboy cosplayer. "I thought you had a good footing on him!" Luan yelled irritably.

Lynn narrowed her eyes. "Hey, don't pin this all on me." Pointing an accusatory finger, "You were watching him too!"

"_I_ wasn't pinning him to the floor!" Luan countered.

Lynn let out a primal growl. "Just shut up and grab him!"

* * *

"Dang man, I can barely see a thing out here..." Luna muttered as she shown her flashlight back and forth as she and Lana walked in-between booths, looking for any sign of 'Card Shark'.

Since they split off from the group, they hadn't seen fin nor scale of that wannabe fish; around them, they could hear the sounds of others fighting along with the murmurs of the nearby crowd, putting some pressure on the duo to do their part. This was diminished a bit when 'Night Club' distinctly heard Luan yelling at Lynn over something she couldn't decipher.

"Well," Lana shrugged. "At least we aren't the only ones not catching crooks today."

"Still sis, he might be the one that's got that poor cat with him." Luna looked down at the six, becoming a little bothered by the relaxed look on her face. "You don't seem worried about it though."

Lana smiled. "Oh, I am. But I think we're going about this the wrong way."

Luna raised a brow, pointing the flashlight at the ground as she stopped. "What do ya mean?"

"This guy is supposed to be like a shark, right?" Lana idly rotated the wrench in her hands. "I know for a fact that fish can't survive long without water. So, I think he must be near that dunk tank we saw this morning."

Luna pursed her lips a little. It was a sound idea, except for one little fact. "He's not _really_ a shark dude; just some bloke wearing a costume. And, wasn't that tank broken earlier?"

The little plumber formed a scowl. "That's not what it was in the book!" She folded her arms. "And it was fixed like, an hour ago."

The rocker sighed inwardly. _"She's only six mate. Don't let it bother ya..." _

The twins might seem more mature for their age given how they handle things; what six year old can fix a car or be manipulative enough to make _adults _cower in fear? But there were also times where even Luna was reminded that they were only two years above the age from being considered toddlers. Heck, even _Lisa_ displayed mannerisms of someone her age in rare occasions. Unfortunately, this very well meant that when the twins had their mind set to something (in this case, Lana), you might as well be trying to convince her that taking a bath would keep her skin healthy.

As much as she kept telling herself it would be a waste of time, the musician raised her hands in defeat. "Alright," She grabbed the smaller girl's hand and started leading her in a particular direction. "Let's go check the dunk tank."

Lana smiled, which Luna almost took as a smug grin. "Oh, and turn your flashlight off! It might give us away."

The 15 year old rolled her eyes before doing so, already hating how she had to part her eyelids far apart just to see more than 20 feet. A few minutes later, they came across the area where Luna assumed the tank was located; hard to tell since all the booths looked the same. The 15 year old spotted a glass cage supported by a small pool. Walking up to the attraction, Luna could see it was still filled with water.

"Huh," 'Night Club' put a hand on her hip. "Guess they did fix it."

"Told ya." 'Flush' said with a smug grin.

"Don't get to partyin' just yet brah," Luna started before pointing inside the cage. "This thing's got nothin' but H2O."

Lana rolled her eyes. "I didn't say he'd be _IN_ the tank."

"Suuuure you didn't..." Came the teen's sarcastic remark.

"Still, I'm right on the nose here." Lana squinted her eyes as she scanned their surroundings. "He's probably just hiding nearby."

"So, can I use my flashlight now?" Luna waved the object in her hands.

Lana looked at her older sister as if that was a stupid question. "Uh, no! We gotta be _sneaky_ if we wanna catch him." The little blonde raised a brow as a fascinating scent caught her nose. "You smell hotdogs?"

Luna simmered for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Lans, don't you think you _might _be takin' this hero thing a little off the rails?" Putting a hand on her hip as she glanced around for a moment, "And what's food got to do with anything?"

The brunette didn't get an immediate response, making her look back to where Lana was, or had been rather. The plumber was on her hands and knees, sniffing the ground as if she were a relative of Charles.

Luna bit her cheek. "You know, sometimes I wonder if Lana's alright upstairs." Pursing her lips, "Or if Lisa put some kind of dog DNA in her."

Lana seemed to have heard her as she stopped, sitting upright as she stared at the cloth wall of the booth in front of her. The girl started to growl, making Luna grow concerned she might've unknowingly hurt her feelings.

"Lana, I-"

The musician paused as Lana darted under the cloth wall, barking like a mad dog as she disappeared from sight. Luna heard a man yelp in surprise before screaming as the sound of teeth meeting flesh was heard. Luna blinked as her brain registered what had occurred, soon taking out her guitar as a precaution whilst stepping up to the booth. Lana was known for attacking the mailman like this, and sometimes people she didn't like; but there was a part of Luna's brain that reasoned the dog act might've served a greater purpose. Just as she was about to draw the curtain back, Luna found herself nearly floored as two persons rushed out the back and sent her spinning.

"Dude, what the heck?!" 'Night Club' spoke in a dazed tone as she regained her balance. When her vision corrected itself, her eyes focused on a man wearing a Card Shark costume with a half eaten hotdog and bun in his hand. 'Royal Flush' was still attached to his leg by her teeth, giving menacing growls as the man attempted to shake her off.

The rocker gained a fierce glare once the man started to physically pry the little girl off. Raising her guitar above her head, "Hands off my sister brah!"

Luna ran towards the two, who had now stumbled just feet from the dunk tank. Luna slammed into the man instrument first, with the momentum pushing open the glass door and causing the trio to fall into the water.

* * *

Elsewhere in the building, 'High Roller' was letting out a stream of gasps as he ran as fast as his body would allow. Having the most _flashy_ costume (or a mix of colors that made Leni's eyes hurt), he was easily spotted by the two oldest siblings shortly after the groups split. Both sides knew the criminal wouldn't last long in a chase, much less a fight; Lori could (regrettably) see the fat bulging out at the edges of the suit and the sweat caked on certain areas. A direct conflict was also out of the question due to the 2 on 1 advantage; but where 'High Roller' lacked in physical abilities, he made up for it in smarts.

The obese man bolted around the corner, taking a second right to make sure he wasn't spotted too easily. As his chest clawed for air, 'Roller' dug into his pocket and pulled out an inhaler, giving himself a quick puff as the two heroines ran past his hideaway.

Lori forced herself into a stop, giving a loud groan as their quarry evaded their sight yet again. "For a guy that's allergic to exercise, he knows how to hide..."

"At least I don't have to look at that costume for a little longer." Leni shivered as she stuck her tongue. "Those colors and that pattern? Totes not good."

'High Card' had to nod in agreement, a sudden chill running up her spine as she heard a few faint screams somewhere close by. Sisterly instincts were running rampant ever since first spotting the would-be catnappers. Part of her still chided herself for even agreeing with Lincoln's plan from the start, instead of letting the much better equipped police and security handle it; they may not have guns or anything lethal (at least she hoped), but she doubted they'd have qualms about hurting a bunch of little kids. Then again, the Louds were _anything_ but normal kids; Lori didn't worry much for Luna, Luan, Lynn, and even Lincoln to an extent, but she could admit that Lucy, the twins, and even Lisa were not to be trifled with under the right circumstances. Leni...bless her heart, but unless clothing was involved, Lori doubted she'd willingly hurt anyone.

"Lori?"

The eldest Loud shook her head before looking at her roommate. "Huh?"

"What should we do?"

"Well," Lori put her hands on her hips. "Best thing we can do now is split up and find him. Either we'll see him or the cops find him first, it doesn't matter. We just need to get him caught."

Leni shifted a little on the spot. "You sure that's a good idea? It's kinda hard to see in here..."

"It's not like he could fight back or anything." Lori pursed her lips, knowing how stupid that sounded. "I mean, he can, but I'm sure we can handle it." She unclipped the flashlight from her belt and handed it to Leni. "Here. You'll need this more than I do."

Leni took the light, inspecting it in her hand before pointing the bright end towards her face. She frowned as it appeared the light wouldn't turn on. As she moved her hand towards the switch, "I don't think it-" She flipped it on, making a sharp yelp as her vision was assaulted by 75W of light. "AAAH! I'M BLIND!" She shielded her eyes, dropping the light on the ground.

Lori rolled her eyes whilst shaking her head. Picking up the light and placing it back in Leni's hand, "Just make sure you keep the shiny end pointed away from you."

The two blondes split, with Lori going west and Leni (while still clearing her vision) going east. None of them realized their opponent was just feet from where they stopped.

'High Roller' sighed in relief, taking another puff from his inhaler. "I've wanted women chasing me, but not like this! Those girls are more trouble than they're worth." He pocketed his inhaler, scratching the side of his head in thought. "There's gotta be a way to turn this around. I won't last long in a fight, and getting the heck out of here is more important that saving those other nitwits." Looking at the ground, "But going by foot is too risky. Those cops and kids are probably everywhere..." He tugged at his suit. "Should've picked something in the XXXL variety. Can't believe those dumb retailers only had Double-extra on hand..."

His eyes widened as a thought came to him. "Wait a minute. There was an attraction with that infamous monster truck in here; with the sudden evacuation, and the fact this convention lasts all weekend, I doubt they'd move it. Or throw away the key." Looking around to make sure he was alone, the obese man started making his way to where the High Roller was parked. "Sweet salvation, here I come!"

After minutes of sneaking around, with a few close calls as the police were starting to tighten their search bubble, 'High Roller' reached the famed attraction. The truck sat high on its platform, daring any fool to take it for a ride and crush whatever happened to fall beneath its wheels. Fortunately for the villain, a set of stairs had been hastily left next to the door. 'High Roller' marched up the steps, gaining a wide grin as his escape was literally within feet of being claimed. Once he reached the door, all it took was a soft tug to get inside.

Even better, the keys were still in the ignition.

As he sat down, the man frowned at how close he was to the steering wheel. No doubt from little kids thinking they can drive a big rig. "This won't do..." He reached down to the side, pulling on the seat adjustment controls until he was comfortable. "Ahh, better. Now let's see here..." 'High Roller' gazed at the controls. "Any other incompetent fool would struggle just finding the stick shift, much less the basic controls like the windshield wipers and suspension." He mulled in thought as his finger glazed over the buttons. "But I'VE read the manual for this beast." He grinned, turning the key just enough to connect the battery. Pressing a few buttons, the suspension hissed as it adjust to a more shallow angle; wouldn't be pretty if the cab just rammed into the wall or low beam now would it?

Forty feet away on the ground, Lori walked out into the pathway after passing between two booths. "Ok, either this guy is literally the world's best hide-n-seek champion, or I'm overthinking this a bit."

The eldest Loud flinched upon hearing an engine starting. Rotating towards the source of the noise, Lori was forced to shield her eyes as a pair of bright lights blinded her. "What the?!" Her fingers parted just enough to discern between the light source and its surroundings. Her blood ran cold as she saw the very crook she was looking for in the seat of a monster truck; and she was right in front of it.

"You know, I was going to make a quick escape out of this failed 'mission' quote-unquote. But then again," 'High Roller' grinned maliciously. "What's a little revenge going to hurt?" He slammed his foot on the gas peddle, the truck's wheels screeching before it launched itself off the platform. "This is for making me run half a block!"

Lori stood stock still like a literal deer in the headlights. It wasn't until the concept of being flattened into paste by a giant truck screaming in her mind that her body moved. The Loud gave a shrill cry before jumping to the side, the massive truck easily tearing through booths and merchandise like it was nothing.

* * *

"Did...you hear screaming just now?" Lucy asked, glancing towards her prodigy of a sister.

"That, and the sound of a vehicle in the Class 7 variety in motion." Lisa answered, not looking up from the small device in her hands. A moment of silence allowed them to hear heavy objects being knocked over, or destroyed. "And destruction of public property."

"That sounded like Lori..." The gothic child stated ominously. "I hope the rest of our siblings are doing ok. I normally don't have doubts about their ability to handle things, but..."

"Fear not, my nocturnal and supernatural loving sibling. I assure you that the rest are doing well." Lisa stated, squinting her eyes a little as she turned her body to and fro as if she was searching for something. On the screen, multiple footprints were shown, each pair being scanned at a rapid pace whilst the 4 year old pursed her lips trying to find the right pair she was looking for. After rotating to her left a bit, the screen highlighted a particular set of prints; unlike the others, these seemed a little erratic. It appeared as if the person was walking at an even pace, but veered off in multiple directions for an unknown reason. About 15 feet away, Lisa could even see that the person stopped behind the wall of a booth before continuing on. "This way."

Lucy wasn't all that convinced about Lisa's optimism. "How can you be so sure? If these crooks were willing to steal a cat, who knows how far they'd go to achieve their deed?"

Lisa dispelled a sigh through her nose. "I know so, because I can track all of our sibling's movements." She put two fingers on the screen and closed them to a point, causing it to zoom out from their position. She turned and showed the screen to Lucy, who at first noticed two dots at the center of the screen. The gothic girl assumed that was herself and Lisa, but then she noticed 10 other dots moving about on the map.

Behind her black locks, Lucy blinked in surprise. "How did you..." She spoke as tingling sensation on her chin demanded her attention, reflexively bringing her hand up to scratch it away. The 8 year old grew a little annoyed as it persisted, but as she looked at Lisa's device, she started to piece things together. "Hold on. So during that time we thought we made Dad lose his job, you _were_ lying about putting trackers in us?"

Lisa developed a poker face in response, though this changed to a nervous grin as she could tell Lucy was trying to pierce her soul with the glare she was making. "Ok, you got me." She dropped the act, looking back at her tracking device before moving on, motioning for Lucy to follow. "You might call it intrusive, invasive, meddling in laymen's terms, but I have a good reason for it."

Lucy folded her arms. "Need I mention the numerous cameras around the house?"

Lisa bit her cheek. "...Ok, I may be overstepping my boundaries, but I have a valid reason for implanting in trackers in all of our family members." The two hooked a right as they continued following the footsteps. "As you may be aware of, we each have a gross habit of losing track of each other; which isn't uncommon given the large size of our family. So, I developed a simple method of finding anyone should their location be unknown." The prodigy hummed for a moment. "It might've come in handy during that one occurrence when Lincoln took us to the mall without adult supervision."

"By putting trackers on us while we were asleep." Lucy surmised.

"Well, to be frank, it was the easiest and least painful method." Lisa shrugged. "I did try to have you guys digest something that would accomplish the same thing, but decided against it after discovering potential gastrointestinal problems. I would say that Lily got off lucky that her excrement is just highly odorous."

Lucy paused in her step after hearing that. "Lisa..." She started in a dangerous tone.

However, the little genius was quick to add as she looked towards her older sibling. "I didn't experiment on her." Bringing her focus back to the tracker, "She unfortunately has yet to grow out of the habit of trying to eat anything within reach. I myself nearly had cardiovascular arrest at the possibility of permanent damage to her body whilst she has yet to live a full life."

"..." Once again, Lucy gave her imposing silence as a response.

"And to ascertain my previous statement," Lisa gave a side glance at her sister. "Just because I don't express the emotions commonly associated with worry, doesn't mean I don't care about the wellbeing of my siblings. Not to antagonize our brother's optimism, but I'd be giving falsehoods if I didn't say our task of apprehending a real criminal may be a goal that should be handled by the proper authorities, especially considering our stature and weight class." They made a left turn. "But our family's frequent altercations with each other and strength in numbers should be enough to turn the tide. Besides, these criminals don't exactly look like the type of persons to pull off something this intricate."

Lucy raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying, there's an 86% possibility that someone else at the head of this operation." Lisa widened her eyes as she paused in her step. Lucy was caught off-guard and had to plant her toes in the carpet to avoid running into her. "She's close."

Both girls looked up, feeling a little dismayed seeing that the footsteps led right into the fading crowd. "Hmmm..." Lisa scratched the side of her head, trying to figure out an easier way to find their quarry.

Lucy gave a light huff. "I know what you're trying to do, but don't worry about." Behind her dark locks, determination was very much present in her glare. "I'll find her."

"Care to elaborate on your intentions to do that?" Lisa looked away from her tracker towards her gothic sister, only to blink in surprise as Lucy was nowhere to be seen. The shock didn't last long as the prodigy developed her usual stoic stance. "Of course..."

Lucy maneuvered through the crowd, most of which weren't even aware of her presence unless she bumped into someone on accident. It was times like this she appreciated that she was instinctive for her to draw little attention to herself; whether it be her unnaturally quiet footsteps or the fact her attire seemed to blend into the background, which in itself is ironic since you'd think black and white would make her stand out even in bright areas. Her family might not understand it yet, but Lucy doesn't just pop up out of nowhere on purpose.

"Maybe they're just startled easily. Or fail to notice their surroundings." Lucy spoke to no one in particular. "Might be hereditary considering the number of times Mom had to remember where Lily was." Her head jolted up when she realized she was starting to go on a tangent. "Sigh." She patted her forehead with an open palm. "Focus Lucy, you need to find the villain." She eyed the people around her, looking for visible signs of fear, paranoia, and possibly some guilt thrown in. "Given the nature of her steps, she's likely trying to hide her emotions and think no one will pay heed to her. She might've changed costumes even."

Lucy shook her head. "That's not likely though, since she'd have little time to even afford a disguise." She kept an eye out for anyone dressed as Card Countess. It was quite fortunate, or unfortunate, that not many were a fan of the vampiric villain. There were a few kids sporting the attire, and _maybe_ a couple guys (not that Lucy judged), but it was a little bothersome that Card Countess didn't appeal to the masses much.

Old Maid was somehow more popular, despite being a crazy elderly woman. Maybe it was the comedic effect.

Then again, gothic poetry wasn't all that appealing to many either, and typically, villains weren't as popular as heroes; barring them being the protagonist.

Focusing on the task at hand, 'Spades' noted that she was getting close to the main entrance, causing some worry as she had yet to find her quarry. _"She couldn't have left already, could she?..." _The goth mulled to herself as she changed her method of search.

She weaved in between persons for a moment, skipping over to her right just a tad before noticing another woman wearing a Card Countess outfit. However, unlike the other costumes Lucy had seen, this lady's looked a little unkempt. Moving in a little closer, 'Spades' took note of a series of slashes in trios on parts of the outfit.

"Claw marks..." Lucy paused in her step as the woman looked around for a moment. There was also another claw mark jutting across her left cheek and onto her nose. The stoic face may have given an aura of indifference, but Lucy had all the information she needed just from looking at the woman's eyes; they reeked of suppressed anxiety.

"She might be decent, but she's not good at hiding her emotions." Lucy muttered, pressing forward. It didn't appear that 'Countess' was carrying anything, despite her and her colleague having a hold on the kennel earlier. The goth increased her frown. "Doesn't matter." She unhooked her spade, having a tight grip on the handle. "Either way, I'll find out where it is."

Lucy weighed her options as she got within 10 feet of the villain. She could try a direct confrontation, especially with police nearby and (hopefully) helpful bystanders. However, that could easily go sideways; leaving Lisa behind while she might have a tool to quickly subdue the villain may prove to be a calculated error.

"How would Lincoln do this?..." The goth recalled the time she had led her brother on a goose chase to figure out who really clogged the toilet with a Princess Pony book. Much of it was forced interrogation, which didn't work on a couple of the girls. Lucy's eyes lit up a little as an idea came to her. "But what if I _trick_ her into revealing the truth?"

The gothic Loud moved around the crowd until she was walking next to the woman. She wasn't the best at making small talk, but if this lady was the brooding type like herself, complaints were easy to come by.

Giving an exasperated sigh, "Looks like another convention was ruined. I didn't even get an autograph from the cast." Lucy spoke to no one in particular, though she was giving a side glance towards 'Countess'.

'Countess' turned her head towards the little girl next to her. She didn't remember seeing anyone else dressed in some cloak, or if there ever was a character in the series like that; fortunately for Lucy, her identity remained inconspicuous.

Feeling compelled to speak, 'Countess' gave a shrug. "Well, there's always next year."

"So, what were you here for?"

Lucy noticed the slight jolt the woman gave when asked that question. "Just here with my...sister." The young goth raised a brow at the way she paused. "She wanted to come to this geek-fest and Mom made me go with her."

The Loud bit her cheek. _"A likely story."_ She looked around innocently for a moment, then directed her attention back to 'Countess'. "I don't see her though."

"She's already outside." 'Countess' quickly stated.

Lucy gave an inaudible huff. Seeing the entrance was nearby, she'd have to make this quick. "Was there anything you _DID_ like about the convention? You are dressed like Card Countess after all."

'Countess' groaned a little, her arms dropping to her sides. Whether Lucy was getting on her nerves, or it was part of an act, she couldn't tell. It wasn't like the woman could just walk away from this conversation since they were nearly packed in like sardines. "...My sister made me wear it..."

Lucy looked at the woman's costume. "I'm gonna guess that you like cats too?"

'Countess' squinted her eyes before looking down at the little girl. "What are you getting at?..."

'Spade' felt now was the right time to drop the act. Seeing the security checkpoints, the goth switched gears to goad her into a confrontation. "The claw marks on your dress and face say a lot. As if they're telling me that a certain cat was mistreated and forcibly whisked away from its trailer."

'Countess' stopped in her steps. "Let me guess." She turned her body to face 'Spade'. "You're one of those kids from earlier."

Lucy gave a rare smile. "And you're one of the creeps who not only stole something of incredible value, but ruined this gathering for all these innocent people." The smile disappeared as the goth curled her hands into fists. "But what I want to know is, why? Why would you, and five others, go through all this trouble just to make an innocent animal's life miserable? What are you so desperate to get out of this?"

'Countess' folded her arms. "And why should I bother indulging a little punk like you?" She eyed the shovel on the girl's back. "You gonna 'bury me alive' or some shit?"

Lucy unstrapped her spade. "That can be arranged." She planted the bladed end into the floor. "You may think I'm not much of a threat to you just because you're much older than I, but that would be the biggest mistake you'd make today. If there's even a hair out of place on that poor kitten," Lucy raised her head a little further, letting the woman see one of her eyes. It was filled with hate and conviction. "Your death will be slow..."

'Countess' let out a small chortle. "You think your pathetic death threats mean anything? Let alone that tiny little tool you call a shovel?" She knelt down until she was level with Lucy's face. "You think you can be a hero? You think I'm doing this just to be sadistic? Please, I could care less about what happens to Kitty."

"Then answer my question..." Lucy growled.

"Money," 'Countess' shrugged. "Simple as that."

"So, the sin of greed has taken over your mind." The goth lifted her spade out of the floor. "You're even less of a vampire than I thought. If anything, that makes you more of a wolf. Cunning and cruel, I can already tell you'd step on others if it meant getting what you'd want."

As people continued to move around them, the crowd had begun to thin out until it was just two girls in a heated standoff.

'Countess' shook her head. "Clearly, you aren't old enough to understand the value of money. So let me ask this: what would you do with 10 Grand?"

"I'd give it to those who actually needed it." 'Spade' replied in an even tone. "I come from a family where I can go for a month or two without an allowance, but I'm not shallow enough to acquire currency through thievery." A smirk worked its way onto her face. "For all I know, you'd probably be nothing but a promiscuous woman if it meant earning a big payout."

'Countess' raised a brow at that last statement. "A what?..."

"She means you'd undertake in prostitution." A younger voice with a lisp cut in.

Both 'Countess' and 'Spade' turned to see 'Card Counter' standing just feet away, with some kind of ray gun pointed at the vampiric cosplayer.

'Countess' didn't seem concerned about the fact a child had a weird firearm aimed at her, believing it to be a toy, seeing as she whipped back towards Lucy with a fierce glare. "What did you call me?!" She hissed out. Lucy only offered silent temptation as an answer. Growing furious, the woman moved to grab Lucy, only to be struck by a wave of electricity. Her body jolted for a few seconds before her back stiffened and limbs limbs locked up, falling to the ground with barely enough consciousness as she tried to figure out what happened.

Lucy walked over to the downed woman, spade hanging on her shoulders. "And in case I wasn't clear enough." She leaned down, "You're an embarrassment to vampires everywhere..." She whispered in the woman's ear before raising the spade above her head and slamming the flat side on the woman's cranium.

'Countess' jerked from the force before her vision blacked out completely.

"I would've recommended keeping her conscious for interrogation purposes," Lisa walked closer, inspecting the fallen woman to ensure she was truly incapacitated. "But I suppose it can't be helped."

"I doubt you would get much out of her anyway." Lucy hitched her spade back into its sheath. "She already revealed her intentions to me."

Lisa opened her mouth to clarify what the goth meant, but an adult shined a light over them. The prodigy had to shield her eyes for a moment as the person spoke. "Normally it wouldn't be my business, but care to explain why you two just assaulted this lady here?"

Lisa blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light. The person in question was an officer. "First, I highly suggest you refrain from pointing that bioluminescent device at our optical lobes. And second," She gestured to 'Countess' with her ray gun. "This woman here is far from the innocence you're implying."

A squealing of tires cut through the air, forcing the group to look back towards the darkened floor. Pieces of booth and stands were getting thrown about as a monster truck made a right turn, kicking up more debris before turning left.

Lisa narrowed her eyes, and she couldn't help but acknowledge the worry building in her chest. _"It's following something. Or SOMEONE..."  
_

The officer frowned. "Alright, you kids come with me." The woman leaned down, grabbing the back of 'Countess' clothing at the neck before starting to drag her towards the entrance. Lucy and Lisa looked a little torn on what to do, but decision was made for them as a security officer came by and started to usher them towards the front. The police officer grabbed the receiver of her radio, which was already starting to fill with chatter. "Anyone wanna get the joyrider in the monster truck back there?"

**A/N: Seems Eight and Counter are a good pair for each other. Suit and Joker would be too, if either of them could pay more attention to ensure their quarry is secure. On the other hand, High Card looks like she could use some help. Where's Hearts? What happened with Club and Flush? What about the rest of the heroes? Part 4 will be coming soon.**


End file.
